The Violet Assassin
by The Celestial Sky Dragon
Summary: The Secret Elite Reboot! Akira is a young man who wanted nothing more than to walk again. After his accident he had become depressed, but there was a way he could still enjoy himself. Sword Art Online, a game he had been waiting for since it's announcement. Having bought everything, Akira was ready to play, but soon his world is turned upside down when it becomes a death game.
1. Aincrad Arc: Death Game

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to this new story. After spending a while writing Fairy Tail, I had a hard time coming up with something new. I have recently gotten back into Sword Art Online, and figured, fuck it, I'll give it another go. This is going to be my second try at an SAO fic, even after I said I wasn't going to write for this series again. You'll be surprised.**

 **2 years ago, or so. I uploaded the Secret Elite, and I got so much shit and so many insults that I just quit. I deleted some of the reviews ,but after awhile I just didn't really give a shit. The series has gotten better over the years, and while some say it's absolute generic garbage, I fucking like it. Sure there are plot holes and sure Kirito is overpowered as all hell, but who cares.**

 **I'm still going to use Akira as the main character and will be reusing several parts of The Secret Elite, as I will be taking that story down. The First chapter has been rewritten from the ground up, though it does include a bit of the original chapter one. all of the ideas I had for The Secret Elite have since become loose ends, which will be clipped off. Some of the characters may return, others wont, we'll see how it goes.**

 **This story will feature an oc x Rain pairing. I see a lack of these and I do find her character quite interesting. I was thinking of making it an oc x Yolko story, because she has the booty, but I don't know exactly how that would work. There might be some SAO abridged references here and there, because I just can't help myself. So I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **I was actually going to write two stories, a Persona 5 story, and an Accel World story, but I just couldn't get past Chapter 1 on either. I did come up with one called Rusty Old Swing Set, which is set in the aftermath of Persona 5. It was supposed to be about Futaba and how she would cope without Akira being in her life after he saved her. She was going to be paired with my Oc, Lucas who is just a loner who gets bullied a lot. But like I said I never got past chapter one.**

 **I might add some Accel World stuff into this story later on, depending on if I get my hands on Millennium Twilight or not. I still haven't even finished Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization. I've ignored that practically since the release date back in November, so I'll get on it eventually.**

 **So, until then peace out...**

 **Since this isn't Fairy Tail there won't be a Song of the Day, I might get it going later on, I might not.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 1

Death Game

It was dark, almost pitch black in the bedroom, but that didn't really bother the boy. He was used to the darkness of his room, mostly because he spent his time with low lighting. The room was rather basic, it had a large bed to one side of the room, and on the other side were some shelves, filled to the brim with various books, manga and light novels. There were a few posters and figurines scattered about the room. There was also a large desk next to the only window in the room, holding a monster of a gaming PC. On the shelf above it sat a dated and worn looking gaming rig.

The Nerve Gear. One of the greatest pieces of technology the world had ever seen. This helmet had been created for people to experience the new FullDive technology. A system software that allowed people to play virtual games in three dimension's all in the persons head. It had been a revolutionary piece of tech, one that had garnered the attention of millions, yet only a few had ever owned one. Next to it sat a game case, still in mint condition. The name of the game, Sword Art Online, a haunting reminder of what he had experienced for two years of his life.

He sighed, looking away from the gaming device of years past. He was sixteen years of age, with a mop of messy brown hair on his head. He had fair colored skin, with a few freckles around his nose. He had bright silver eyes, a rare trait in his family. He was a bit lanky for his age, but that was due to his condition.

He had been in an accident two and a half years ago. On his way home from school, a drunk driver had hit him with his car. The impact had left several vertebrae in his back broken, and his spinal cord had a lot of damage, preventing him from walking. Ever since then, he had been really depressed about everything, but lately everything had been turning up, especially with his scheduled surgery going on soon. He was on a weeks vacation from school, and he was excited to play a game with his friends, the ones that had not only saved his life, but had also been like family to him.

There was a knock on his door and he sighed, setting aside the AmuSphere on his lap. He grabbed his glasses and placed them on his face, turning to face the door.

"Come in." he said.

The door softly opened, and a tall man walked in. He was wearing a business suit, which was black in color. He was wearing a crimson tie around his neck, tucked within his suit. He looked around the room, a frown on his face.

"Hello son, how are you doing?" he asked. The boy crossed his arms, looking away from him.

"I'm fine, still crippled by the way." he replied.

"Don't speak like that. All of that will be taken care of soon, I just came to talk to you about something. You're mother...she told me you bought that new game system."

"The AmuSphere, yeah I bought it. My friends told me there was this other VR game and I want to play it. In fact I've already transferred all my avatar data from SAO and am planning on meeting them in game." he said.

"Noah, listen...I just...don't feel safe with you playing that stuff." the man said, taking a seat at the computer. He grabbed the AmuSphere box, reading the stuff written on the back.

"I get you, but this one was made with safety in mind. There are no microwaves and it doesn't cut of the nerve responses to your body. You play this while going to sleep." he replied.

"I still don't feel safe son...you lost two years in that game, and not everyone was spared." he said, looking at the young man.

"I know...and that stuff haunts me every day. But I can't live in the past, I just have to move on. Now if you excuse me, I have to log on. My friends are waiting for me." he said, placing the AmuSphere over his head. The man sighed and stood up, heading toward the door.

"Alright, I'm not gonna stop you. Just...be careful and have fun okay?"

"Yeah...I'll try...see ya later dad." he said, waving the man off as he left the room. Noah laid back in his bed and took a deep breath, his eyes drooping closed.

"Link Start!"

A torrent of colors rushed at him, drowning his vision in a sea of colored orbs. Hearing, Sight, Touch, Taste, and Smell were all checked, bringing him to the log in screen. As soon as he logged in, everything around him faded to white.

He opened his eyes and looked around, seeing himself in a brand new world. The sights and scents were just as he remembered them. He looked at his HP bar, seeing his health was full, along with his MP bar. His name was displayed on the top part of the bar. Akira, the name he had registered under during that fateful day two years ago.

He looked at his hands, seeing the light purple tint his skin had. He was wearing a violet garb, which consisted of a hooded cloak, which fell over his shoulders and down to the middle of his back. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt underneath, with leather arm guards on his arms. He had violet fingerless gloves on his hands, and he wore a light chest plate over his chest. He wore long black pants, stuffed into violet buckle boots. At his waist was his weapon of choice, a dagger known only as Sword Breaker. He closed his hand, a smirk on his face.

"I'm back." he said, looking at the sky, the world tree was barely visible from the corner of his eye. The world of ALPheim online greeted him once more and welcomed him with open arms.

Instead of standing around like an idiot. He begun walking into the city, he had started out in the Imp territory when he had started the game out. But thanks to his friends, he had not only been able to level up, but also found a good place to start at. The Neutral town at the base of the World Tree was their normal meeting place, but it wouldn't be for long. The New Aincrad patch had been added to the game not long ago. He and his friends had made plans to meet in the Town of Beginnings. Akira had been rather apprehensive when they had broached this topic. He wasn't too keen on returning to the world that had almost killed him.

10,000 People had logged in on day one, and two years later, only 6,103 had logged out. More over, 300 of those players had been held captive in the very game he was currently playing. Though his father didn't really know about that part. He was sure the man would take away all of his FullDive tech at that point. He shook his head and took a deep breath, summoning his wings. Without a thought, he shot off into the sky, flying towards the Iron Castle in the sky.

" _It's still so crazy. Who would have thought someone would create a game where you could flying endlessly? FullDive technology really is amazing. Even if it's creator was insane."_ he thought to himself.

Even after everything that happened, he didn't blame Kayaba for what happened. Sure, he had been the mastermind who trapped him and nine thousand others within Sword Art Online, but it was his choice to buy the game, and it was his choice to put the headset on. He didn't blame anyone really. It was supposed to be a game, a game that quickly turned into a nightmare.

After awhile, he reached the bottom most floor of Aincrad, and flew over the edge. His feet touched the cobblestone and his wings disappeared. Since he had entered a town, he wasn't able to fly anymore, until he went to the field. He looked around, eyes widened from surprise.

The Town of Beginnings looked just like it did on day one. The shops, the scents, the NPCs...everything was the same. He felt his hands shake a bit as he stood there. He closed his eyes, calming himself down. He knew if his heart rate increased, he would be booted from the game. He took a weary step forward, his body shaking a bit. A few more steps and he stopped, turning around.

"I can't do this...I thought I could but I can't! I'll just go back and take a quest somewhere else." he said to himself, walking toward the edge of the map.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. Apparently he had caught the attention of another player. She looked around his age, though with how the game was made, he couldn't exactly tell if she was a girl or not. Not that it mattered as long as they didn't act weird toward him.

She had long crimson colored hair, reaching down just past her shoulders. She was wearing a sleeveless dress which was black in color and had golden accents along the hem. She was wearing a pair of crimson shorts underneath. She wore long white stockings and black armored boots with golden trimming around the edges. She also wore similar arm guards, with brown gloves. Around her waist were two scabbards, a pair of swords resting within. His eyes widened a bit.

"A dual wielder? I thought that was impossible." he said out loud. His eyes widened a bit and he hastily covered his mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like that." he said.

"Don't worry about it. Dual Wielding became part of the roster of skills with the last update, but there aren't any skills yet. Only those with fast speed can unlock it, maybe you'll be lucky. Anyway, are you alright? You look ready to pass out." she said, slowly approaching him.

"Um...I'm alright now but...I just don't want to be here...there's...It's hard to explain." he said, glancing at the floor.

"Are you intimidated by Aincrad and how big it is? Oh, could it be that you have no friends in game? I'll be your friend if you want." she said. He shook his head.

"No, that isn't it. I got plenty of friends it's just...there's another reason why I don't feel comfortable being here." he said, looking over the edge of the map. He could see all of ALPheim below them, hundreds of miles away. Aincrad was set on a cycle, apparently it would move over all of the nations, and right now it was over the Sylph Nation.

The girl must have finally realized what he meant, because she closed the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around him, stunning him a bit. He just stood there, not exactly knowing how to react. She was a bit shorter than him, not by much.

"You're a survivor right?" she asked, after a minute of silence.

"Yeah...that's right." he said. She let go of him, standing next to the edge, looking down at the land below.

"I'm sorry, I was a bit insensitive. I thought you were just a newbie player who was just overwhelmed by it all. But it never crossed my mind that you were part of that massacre." she said.

"It's alright, listen...maybe I should just get out of your hair. My friends and I we're meeting up in Tolbana but I guess I'll just send them a message and tell them I couldn't make it." he said.

"Nonsense...you can still go. You just...have to move on from the past, and the best way to do that is to speak about it. My sister always says it's best to talk about your problems with someone you trust." she said matter of factly. He rose a brow, leaning against the edge.

"Really, and why would I trust you? After all we just met Miss, for all I know you could be part of Laughing Coffin." he said. Her eyes widened a bit at the name, but she shook it off, breaking into giggles.

"Yeah right, as if I would be part of them. I heard rumors of what they did though." she said.

"Yeah, those bastards were something else. Remembering what they did still fucks with my head." he said, shaking a bit.

"Hmm...well I guess you are right about that trust thing. So how about we become friends." she said, opening her menu. She sent him a request, the menu popping up in front of him.

" _Player Rain would like to become friends. Accept/Decline?"_

He looked up at the girl who had a bright smile on her face. He shrugged pressing the blue X icon, accepting the request.

"So, you're names Akira? Is that you're real name?" she asked curiously.

"No it isn't, and I doubt Rain is your real name. But anyway, I guess you are right about talking about it. You wanna go to a pub or something?" he asked.

"Nah, I think I'll be fine here." she said, climbing onto the edge of the first floor. She sat down next to him, giving him her full attention. He took a deep breath, looking up at the blue sky. The disc of the second floor above them was barely visible through the clouds. He shook his head, closing his eyes.

"My story begins on November 6th 2022, the day Sword Art Online's servers went online. It was also the day that changed my life forever."

xxx

Noah was smiling brightly as he made his way into his room. Getting around the house in a wheel chair had been a pain, but he had gotten used to it. He had to admit his arms were getting a lot of exercise from pushing himself forward. But he was through with that for a few hours. He headed over to his computer and grabbed the headset that had been resting next to it. He grabbed the bag he had gotten in the shop in Akihabara and opened it, pulling the case out.

"Sword Art Online, the world's first VRMMO and it's in my fucking hands. This is going to be so much fun!" he cried out. He heard a laugh behind him and glanced over his shoulder, seeing his mother standing by the door.

"Now Noah, what have I told you about swearing?" she asked.

"Uh...don't do it in traffic?" he said, causing her to laugh. She shook her head and walked into the room, looking around.

"Well, you're curtains aren't drawn and you look happy. Is this game truly the cause of it?" she asked curiously.

"Duh, I've been waiting for this thing since January. Supposedly, it's been in development hell for at least a decade. Kayaba Akihiko finally got it out and I wanted to be the first of my friends to play it. I'm still envious of those kids who got into the beta though." he said, popping the cartridge into the game slot. Once it was closed, he booted up his computer, deciding to open up his account on the Website rather than in the game itself.

"What else is new with it?" she asked curiously, looking at one of his figurines.

"Well, apparently it's supposed to stimulate your brain. You get to control your avatar with your mind. So I don't even need to walk to play this game. It'll be in my head. I also think it's a rather interesting take on the MMORPG franchise. The first MMO without magic or distinct classes? There has to be a reason why." he said.

"And you're going to discover it, I take it. Well I hope you have fun, but remember to log out before dinner time. You're gonna be off school for awhile anyway so I don't mind if you play after dinner. Maybe I'll get myself a rig and join you."

"Yeah right, you're a mom you can't play games!" he said.

"Well I'll have you know I was pretty good ad WOW back in the day. I was the best Black Mage ever!"

"Pfft, there aren't mages in this game mom, so we don't need you. Unless you can pick up a war hammer." he said.

"Yeah, you're right. Have fun sweetheart."

"Thanks mom, love you!" he said as the woman left the room.

Once he was done with his account, he wheeled himself toward the bed, quickly moving onto it. He placed the Nerve Gear over his head, securing the strap under his chin. He laid back in his bed, glancing at the clock.

"12:55PM, won't be long before the servers go online. Let's see if the streaming software is up." he muttered as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He opened it and logged into his Twitch account. He saw the timer was counting down and would automatically start streaming the moment he logged on. He nodded to himself and locked his phone.

" _Well Noah, this is it. You're life is going to change for the better, even if you can't move like you want in the real world. You'll always have Sword Art Online. It's going to be the best game ever, what a time to be alive!"_

He glanced at the clock on the side of his vision and smiled, seeing it turn from 12:59 to 1:00. At that moment, he uttered the words that hundreds of others would be saying at that time. And the words that would change his life forever.

"Link Start!"

His vision was assaulted with various colored orbs flying at him at a rather fast rate. His senses were all tested and confirmed and with a few keystrokes, he logged into his account. Everything faded into white before he was brought into a dark room.

" _Welcome to Sword Art Online, the first VRMMORPG. Travel through fields, fight monsters and make friends. Everything is rendered in 3D making it the first virtual reality game!"_

"Yeah yeah, I saw this in the beta stream, can I move on?" he muttered, trying to hurry the system up.

He was brought to a palette screen, which had then asked him to customize his avatar. He shrugged and started going over everything. He kept his body size the same, and gave himself violet hair, as it was his favorite color aside from black. He made his eyes a bright blue and left his face free of blemishes. Once he was done, he moved onto to the armor sets. Since he was going for an Agility and Evasion type, he only chose some light armor. After he moved on, he chose the starting dagger and hit enter.

" _Enter your Player Name."_

"Player name huh, this is what my friends will know me as. It should be something cool, something fierce. I'll name myself, Boromir!" he said, typing the name out.

" _Username is taken!"_

"Ugh damn it...alright, let's try Legolas!"

" _Username is taken!"_

"Goddamn it, Jackie Chan!"

" _Username is taken."_

"Really, who names themselves that of all things, fine, let's go with something generic. A.K.I.R.A."

" _Are you sure you want to use the name Akira?"_

"Yes." he muttered, hitting okay.

" _Welcome Akira, to Sword Art Online."_

With that, the screen faded out and everything went black.

He took a deep breath, opening his eyes for the first time. He looked around, eyes widening. He was in the middle of a city, one of the starting towns within Aincrad. All of the buildings looked straight out of a medieval movie. The ground underneath him was made of cobblestone, a light tan in color, and very smooth to walk on. In front of him was a large black castle, which looked quite intimidating. Behind him was what looked like a clock tower. The time was 1:03 PM, so all around him people were logging in for the first time, vibrant blue flashes of light filling his vision.

Nearby were some trees, with skinny trunks and branches, but they had vibrant green leaves, and they swayed a bit in the light breeze that blew through the town. The sun was high in the sky, and the sky was a bright blue color, with a few puffy clouds here and there.

All around, other players were logging in, the bright flash of blue appearing more and more as they all appeared in the center of town. The plaque on the small clock tower was a bright golden color, and it read Town of Beginnings, First Floor.

He hadn't heard anything about Sword Art Online, only that they were in a place called Aincrad. He could only surmise that this was actually the first area of said location.

The buildings around him were typical town houses, with tan colored bricks to match the rest of the town. Angled roofs were covered in either light red or black shingles, some sported chimneys while others lacked them. All in all, this city looked like the perfect place to live. He looked around a bit confused and nervous.

He looked himself over, he had a long sleeve lavender shirt, with leather armor on over it. He was wearing black pants and brown leather boots. He had leather vembraces on his arms, which would protect his forearms from enemies. Nodding to himself, he decided to look around for something to do.

The Town of Beginnings, being that vast town it was, was also very easy to get lost in. The winding alleyways filled with players and NPCs made it a bit hard to navigate. Akira wanted to find a Weapons shop, but he ended up going to some other places. He ended up in front of a large fountain, the square being filled with people, some talking amiably, others checking their starting equipment, none of them looked as newbie as he did. Hell, he stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't know the first thing about questing in this game, and if it worked like it did on every other MMO he'd played before, he needed to find a Quest giver, but he couldn't do that without a weapon. He groaned, face palming a bit.

"I should have read the instruction manual. How was it that you open the menu again?" he muttered to himself. He glanced around him, seeing a few people opening their menus with a swift downward motion. He mimicked their actions, and the menu popped open in front of him.

He looked at his status window, seeing all of his stats were pretty mediocre, especially for him being level one. His HP was currently at 200 out of 200. He also had various ability points that everyone started out with, ten in total. He hummed to himself, looking up at the sky.

"An Agility and Evasion build, so I'll need to focus on those two stats, while keeping Strength and Defense close behind. That leaves Vitality and Dexterity in the background. So let's dump three on AGI, three on EVI and one on everything else." he said, increasing his stats a bit. Once he was satisfied, he checked out equipment, seeing the only item was his weapon.

Dagger

" _Well that's rather generic. The stats are pretty garbage...so that means I'll have to upgrade soon."_

He hit the equip option and it appeared on his waist. He reached a hand for it and drew it out of the scabbard. It didn't weigh much and barely had an edge. He swung it around a few times, feeling just how light it was. He shrugged and placed it back in the scabbard. He looked at the rest of his menu, memorizing all of the different windows so he could access them easier. Once done, he closed the menu and looked around. People were walking around and chatting with each other, the novelty of them being in a game still hadn't worn off. He picked a random direction and walked toward it, hands behind his head.

"Hmm...wonder what I should do first. I don't know how to fight so I should learn to do that. But I should get some quests first." he muttered to himself. He entered another area, and saw a large board, next to what looked like a stone monument. There was a large Iron Palace behind it, the intimidating building towering over the Town of Beginnings. He swallowed hard, but moved toward the board instead.

The word Requests, stuck out to him like a sore thumb. He started running toward it, a smile workings it way onto his face. It had been such a long time since he had actually run, that it felt like an all new feeling to him. He just wanted to run and run and never stop, but he knew his stamina would wear out soon. He stopped in front of the board, panting a bit as he eyed the requests.

"Gather x3 Hornet stingers...that should be easy enough." he muttered to himself, pressing the paper. The menu opened up and he hit accept. It was the only quest available, seeing as some of the better ones had been taken. Once he was all set, he started heading toward the field.

The area just outside the city was just as beautiful as the settlement itself. Lush grassy fields made up most of the area, while there was a large forest miles away from them. A long dusty trail cut across the grass, heading toward the next town. He saw a few others walking around, swinging their weapons and experimenting with the system. He himself was more focused on the local mob.

One of the common enemies on the first floor fields were some creatures called Frenzy Boars. They were medium sized pig like creatures that were grazing on the virtual grass. A few people were attacking them and getting a hang of their skills, while others tried to avoid them entirely.

As he was walking however, he didn't notice he had stepped on a large rock and ended up falling onto his face. He groaned as a numbing sensation filled his mind. He heard someone breaking into laughter and looked up, growling a bit.

"Hey, are you okay?" they asked.

Akira looked up, seeing a young woman standing before him. She stood a bit taller than him, so he assumed she was at least in her twenties. She had long vibrant emerald hair, that fell down to her mid back. She had soft features, and vibrant blue eyes. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, with a bronze breastplate over it. She was wearing a black skirt, with matching black stockings and leather boots. In her hands was a steel sword. He nodded, pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm fine, that rock just snuck up on me." he said, making her giggle.

"Sure did, the elusive rock from the pits of Tartaros itself. A magical weapon, destroyer of millions." she continued, making him scowl.

"Whatever, I'll be on my way."

"Hey wait, you look a little lost. Want some advice?" she asked curiously.

"Um...I suppose I could use some...I still don't know how to fight exactly." he said. She looked him over, seeing his steel dagger at his waist.

"A dagger, are you going for an Agility build?"

"Something along those lines yes." he said.

"Alright, then I'm assuming you already put your Ability points into their respective stats. Word of advice, since you'll be going into agility, focus on defense more than strength. You'll most likely stick to light armor since you'll want to be a bit faster. I would recommend a Rapier instead of a dagger." she said.

"Alright, I'll take that to heart. I chose a dagger just to start out, I was planning on switching to a Sword later on." he admitted. She nodded, looking around. She saw a Dire Wolf hiding behind a rock, eyeing one of the Frenzy Boars.

"Okay, do you know what Aggro is?" she asked.

"Yes, when you attract the enemy's attention to you."

"Very good, I want you to kill that wolf over there. Don't worry, I won't let your ass die, that would just be more embarrassing than that fall just now." she said. He drew his dagger, half contemplating on throwing it at her neck. He grabbed a pebble in his hand, and chucked it at the wolf, striking the side of its head.

The wolf looked at him and growled angrily, the cursor atop its head glowing a bright red. It snarled at him, pawing the ground.

"Okay, what you want to do is get into the initial motion. Your sword skill will activate and the system will take over." the girl said, earning a nod from Akira. He grabbed his dagger, aiming the tip outward. He raced forward, slashing the creature across the side. The wolf hissed in pain and lunged at him, biting onto his leg.

"Ah, shit this stings!" he cried.

"Don't worry, there's no pain sensors in SAO. Kayaba isn't a psychopath." she replied.

Akira growled, seeing his HP slowly drift into the yellow. He slammed the blunt side of the dagger into the Wolf's snout, making it left go. He pulled his dagger back, and it started glowing a bright green. His arm moved of it's own accord, striking the wolf on the under belly. It screeched in pain, before shattering into a million little pieces. The window opened up, showing him how much money and EXP he got.

"Nice, I got 49 exp and something called Col. I also got a Dire Wolf pelt." he said, glancing at the green haired girl.

"Yeah, that's a common monster drop. You can make clothes or armor from pelts. Col is this worlds money, think of it like Gil from FF14." she said.

"Whoa, did you just bring up an old legend from the past?" he asked, earning a giggle from the girl.

"I did, Final Fantasy was an awesome series growing up. The Servers are still maintained, so I get to play every once and a while. Now that you know how to play, you'll be able to gain Experience and level up faster." she said. Akira glanced at his HP, seeing it was still in the Yellow.

"Is there any way to regain HP? I don't feel like dying this early on." he said.

"Check your items, under the consumables menu, you'll see the Potions list. You get three Health Potions, three SP potions and some other nifty things. You'll be able to buy more, and if you power level you're alchemy, you'll be able to make your own potions." she said. He nodded and summoned one of the bottles, looking at the green liquid.

"Wait a minute, how do you know about that? Are you a beta tester?" he asked curiously. She grinned, running her hand through her hair.

"Yeah, one of the lucky thousand players to traverse these lush fields. Though the day one servers are different than the closed beta. For one, there are tons of annoying noobs running around." she said.

"Sorry for ruining you're landscape with my noobieness." he said, uncapping the bottle. He chugged the liquid, seeing his HP bar drifting back into the green.

"Nah, you're alright. At least you didn't ask me how to open the menu." she said, making him chuckle.

"Well, perhaps we should trade names so we can party up later on. I don't have any friends online, so I could use some help." he said.

"Sure thing, my name is Sapphira." she said.

"Damn that's a sweet ass name...I'm so jealous...my name is Akira." he said. The girl hummed to herself and looked through her menu, sending him a friend request. The menu popped up in front of him, and he instantly accepted it.

"Thanks for being my friend Sapphira." he said.

"No problem Akira...hey did you pick up any quests on you're way here?" she asked.

"I picked up the Hornet one...mind helping a poor soul out?" he asked. She giggled and stood up, sheathing her sword.

"Come on, they nest in the forest not far from here." she said. He nodded, following close behind.

As they traveled, they got to know each other a bit more. They took out the nearby monsters, with Akira dealing most of the damage. He had been able to reach level two rather easily, but scowled when he saw Sapphira was level five. Apparently she had taken six quests and finished them in record time, thanks to information from the beta. It gave her a massive advantage, but it also made him realize just how strong someone could get in game.

Reaching the forest, Sapphira pulled Akira to a stop, gesturing to one of the trees. His eyes widened a bit when he saw the mob he was looking for.

The Hornets were ugly looking creatures. They were bigger than their real world counter parts, and were a sickly yellow with furry legs. They had large wings on their backs, keeping them aloft. The thing that made Akira worry was the curved stinger coming from the back end. It looked almost like a sickle, with spikes coming out of it. He took a step back, shaking like a leaf.

"Those stingers look, painful." he said.

"Don't worry...like I said there's no pain sensors in the game. Just follow the advice I gave you and you'll be golden, I'll be watching your back." she said, pushing him forward. He drew his dagger and slowly walked forward, grabbing a stick from the ground. Twirling it around his fingers, he took it and threw it at the nearest Hornet, getting its attention. The cursor was still a bright red, as the creature was level four in strength. He lunged at it, activating **Side Bite** as he went. A large gash formed on its side, angering it even more.

After a few minutes, and several stings later, Akira had gathered the three necessary Hornet Stingers. He had also unlocked the skill **Battle Healing** after he had gotten to level three. Since he was fighting stronger enemies, he did get a bit more experience than normal. Sapphira patted him on the head looking at the menu.

"You're leveling up quite fast. You should have some skill points now, remember to put them toward skills you're definitely going to use. Also don't be afraid to try different things. I would personally go for the Detection and Listening skills, it will help you spot enemies before they spot you. That way you can watch your HP and know where your enemies are." she said.

"Alright, I'll do that. I also got enough Col for another weapon, I think I will level up the Rapier skills. What are you going for?" he asked curiously.

"Two-Handed Great Sword. However in order to use those sword skills, you need to fully level up one handed sword. It's gonna be a rough journey, but it'll be worth it." she said.

"What, are you aiming to be like Guts or something?" he asked, earning a punch to the arm.

Normally he would have yelped in pain, but he had already gotten used to everything within the game. As they walked back to the Town of Beginnings, they couldn't help but start watching the sunset. Akira didn't know how long he had been on, but it didn't really matter to him.

"You know, I look around and I forget this is all a game. Running around, fighting monsters, being able to do...this...it's just so surreal." Akira said, his eyes firmly on the horizon.

"I get what you mean. Those closed beta was all I thought about for months, I was even excused from classes so I could help test the game. I didn't make it past the Eighth Floor, but even that made me realize how beautiful this world is. It's a wonderful time to be alive isn't it Akira?"

"Sure is Sapphira...anyway, I should log off. My old lady will kill me if I miss dinner, and I bet she's making meat loaf." he said, already thinking about food.

"I'll be on for a bit longer, so if you want to log on later, I'll be around. Try not to slack off kiddo." she said, walking away from him. Akira rolled his eyes and opened his menu, scrolling to the side and down to the log out button.

"Hey, total noob question, where's the log out button?" Akira said, catching Sapphira's attention.

"Seriously? That's a dumb question." she said.

"No seriously, it isn't there." he said, glancing at her. Her brows furrowed, and she opened her own menu. She scrolled to the bottom, eyes widening a bit.

"What the hell, it isn't there." she said.

"Heh, leave it to Argus to make a blunder like this on day one." Akira muttered, closing his menu.

"This is odd, well I guess if there's a glitch in the system, they'll just do a system wide log out. We'll just have to wait."

Suddenly, a bell toll brought their attention toward the town. The clock rung through out the entire floor. A sense of dread filled both teens, as they were enveloped by a blue light. He tried reaching out to Sapphira, trying to take her hand, but she had been too far. The light died down, and he found himself back at the Town of Beginnings, the central square where everyone had logged in a few hours back. Several other people were also teleporting in, it seemed as if everyone that as currently in the game was there. He looked to his left, seeing Sapphira beside him, looking around.

"Wonder whats happening?" he asked.

"Probably the official greeting. But something doesn't feel right." she said, hearing her accented words filled him with more dread than before.

Especially because now, he could hear some of the comments the other players were making, and though he understood most of what they were saying, half of them were either scared or confused, with others being confident that it was a tutorial.

"Hey, look up there." someone cried out, pointing to the sky.

He saw a blinking hexagon, that said, Warning, along with one above it that read System Announcement Incoming. The entire sky was covered in these hexagons, giving the are a crimson red glow. A viscous liquid, that could only be described as blood, started flowing out of the cracks in the hexagons.

"Man, they're really pushing for that M rating." someone cried out, making Akira chuckle.

The Red liquid pooled together, forming a giant creature, which actually turned out to be a robed figure.

"Whoa...a game master." someone cried out.

"What's he doing here? Where's his face."

"Sapphira?" Akira called. The girl shrugged, being just as confused as he was. The man finally started talking.

" _ **Hello, I'd like to welcome you to my world."**_

He paused, most likely gauging the reactions of the crowd.

" _ **My name is Akihiko Kayaba, creator of Sword Art Online. As most of you have noticed, there is something missing from your menu. Yes, the Log Out Button has been removed. Do not fret, its not a bug but a key feature of the game. As of now, you will not be able to log out through the main menu."**_ he said, pausing again.

" _ **No one in the outside world will be able to forcefully log you out either. If they do, a signal will be sent out from your Nerve Gear, frying your brain thus ending your life. Sadly, some people didn't heed the warnings, and as a result, 219 players have been logged out of the game, forever."**_

Akira's eyes widened. He had been able to understand that part. 219 players were already dead? Kayaba opened up several menus and windows, showing the current and international news. Everything was the same on every window, a news report of some sort. He saw several people crying on them, reporters asking questions. He even swore he saw his mother on one of them. He shook his head, glaring at the man hovering above them all.

" _ **I would like to add that any means of being revived in the game, are now disconnected. If your HP bar hits zero, your avatar will be deleted from the game, and your brain will be destroyed in real life. Thankfully, no other attempts to take off the Nerve Gear have been recorded, so you can rest assured, no one will die from that. Everyone will have a few hours to be taken to a hospital where proper care of your bodies will be taken. After that, if your unable to make a stable connection, after ten minutes, the brain destruction program will begin. If there is no power for more than an hour, the program will begin. Although I'm sure Hospitals have backup energy sources."**_ he said.

"Hey, how the hell are we supposed to log out then?" someone shouted. The large avatar looked around, and Akira figured he was smirking under that hood.

" _ **There is only one way to log out of the game, and that's to clear all one hundred floors. Right now, you are in the bottom most floor, you will need to find the labyrinth and defeat the boss at the end to access the nest floor. Defeat the boss at the Hundredth floor and you will be able to log out."**_ he said, answering the question.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. You seriously want us to beat an MMO, when was the last time you heard of someone beating Everquest?" the same man shouted.

"When was the last time you heard of anyone playing Everquest?" someone else added. The man hummed to himself.

"Okay, that's fair."

" _ **Now, one last thing...I have put a special Gift in your inventories, go ahead and take a look."**_

Akira's hand moved almost on its own, opening the menu. He scrolled to his inventory and pulled out the item, a simple mirror. He held it up, looking at his avatars face. His body suddenly started glowing a bright blue, the screams of the people around him filling the area. The glow left his body, and he looked back at his reflection.

His hair was no longer purple, and his face was no longer free of blemishes, but was instead dotted with little freckles. He had gotten a bit shorter and his body became a bit lankier than before. The mirror slipped from his hand, shattering on the ground.

" _No way, I look like...myself?"_

"Akira, is that you?"

His eyes drifted to his left, as he turned to face Sapphira. She didn't look anything like her avatar. For one, she was actually shorter than he was. Her hair was still a vibrant green in color, and she had lightly tanned skin. Brown eyes stared back at him.

"Sapphira...you're younger than I am?" he asked.

"I'm fourteen, get it right!" she said firmly. Kayaba cleared his throat, catching their attention.

" _ **Well, you must be wondering, why would Akihiko Kayaba, creator of the Nerve Gear and Sword Art Online do this? It's quite simple. I wanted a world where I could rule. Where my actions alone would dictate the fate of those within it. I can say that with this, I have completed my goal. This concludes the official tutorial and launch ceremony for Sword Art Online."**_

"Hey wait...before you go, I read in the manual that you could connect your Itunes with the game so you could listen to your playlist. I've been trying to do that for the last hour and have been failing miserably, think you could help me?" one guy cried, causing everyone to just stop what they were doing.

" _ **Alright, do you see the Sync option in your menu?"**_

"Uh yeah, I see it."

" _ **What you want to do is hit that, and then scroll down the options and hit bluetooth. Once you do that, back out of that menu and hit sync with Itunes, Android or your PC. You're playlist should pop right up."**_

"Hmm...wait...alright I see it, thanks!"

"You fucking retard, can't you see we're all gonna die? This isn't the time for show tunes!" someone shouted, the sound of a slap echoing through the plaza.

" _ **Ahaha, I can see this is going to be great. Well, good luck reaching Floor 100, try not to die."**_

And with that, Kayaba was gone. The reality of the situation hadn't even sunk in yet. Akira was just looking at the empty spot in the sky. He felt a tug on his hand and looked at Sapphira, who was pulling him out of the plaza. A sharp scream tore through the area, and the place was in a frenzy a second later. The two teens made it away from the plaza, the screams and sounds of running bouncing off the stone walls.

"What are we gonna do?" Akira asked, a look of worry on his face.

"Listen, if you want to survive this game you're going to have to take as many quests as you can. There are plenty in the next town so I suggest you get a move on. I know it would be wise to stick around here and gather you're bearings, but that won't be an option for long. Take these crystals, they'll heal you more than the standard potions." Sapphira said, sending him a trade request, he saw several items being placed in, all of them being consumables.

"How did you get all of this?"

"I kept them from the beta. All of the weapons and armor get deleted but if you made it past floor seven, you were allowed to keep your healing items. The path to Horunka is going to be littered with mob, so take them on as soon as you can."

"But what about you, won't you come along with me?" he asked.

"I can't...there's 9,998 people that need my help. I'm going to gather some friends and start getting some information. It'll help all of us in the long run. Besides, if they find out I'm a beta tester, then I'll probably get blamed for all of this. It'll be fine, just keep your head up."

"Okay...thanks Sapphira, for everything." he said.

"No problem...last word of advice, if you get invited into a guild, or a party, don't be afraid to join them. There's only so much a solo player can do. Keep heading straight down this street, you'll find a vendor who sells weapons. They aren't good, but they're decent for starting players. Good luck, and stay in touch." she said, heading back toward the plaza. Akira shivered a bit, the feeling of crying over taking him. He shook his head, glancing at the sky.

"No, I can't be weak. Sapphira is out there helping out the others, so I have to do my part and find the floor boss. If I can do that, then we can definitely beat this game. Alright then, Horunka village here I come." he said, taking off up the street. Even though he was shaking and nervous, his resolve wasn't going to waver. He wasn't going to let some game get the best of him either. He would do everything he could, to beat this game.

Xxx

"That's how it was for me. I was lucky to have someone there to guide me, even if it was only for a few hours. I wouldn't see Sapphira again until the boss battle." Akira said, glancing back at Rain. She had a frown on her face.

"I didn't think it was so rough for you Akira, you're very brave for doing what you did." she said.

"Well, I couldn't exactly sit around either. If I wanted to beat the game, I had to get good and in order do that, I had to level up. The journey from The Town of Beginnings and Horunka was tough, but I made it to level six before I reached the town. I sort of hit a wall after that, but I didn't stop either." he said. He looked at his clock, only ten minutes had passed since he started the story and he had yet to receive a message from his friends.

"So, what happened then?" Rain asked curiously.

"Hmm...I guess I can skip to the first month. There isn't anything interesting about me running around killing boars and shit." he said, earning a giggle from her. He sighed, feeling a bit lighter. Maybe talking about this would be for the best.


	2. Aincrad Arc: New Friend

**A/N: Hey guys and welcome to Chapter 2 of the Violet Assassin!**

 **I got a lot of positive reviews for Chapter 1, and that's always a good thing. It's kept me motivated to continue, and I've actually started taking up an interest in Sword Art Online again, after the end of Mother's Rosario, I hadn't really watched the anime again. But I plan on binging it when I can. I did read the Progressive Novels and own the first four volumes of it which covers all of Season 1, so I'll be good for awhile.**

 **Now, for a little bit of a time line. Since this story is actually a revamp of The Secret Elite, this will be taking place in and out of SAO. As you all know, It's going to be switching from ALO to SAO to the Real World as Akira shares his story with Rain. Rain of course was a survivor of Sword Art Online, but she doesn't want him to know that and so far he doesn't even suspect it. She just wants to hear his story, because as they say, Everyone is the Hero of their own Story.**

 **I'm not sure if I'll have them go on beyond Floor 75. I did have plans for what Akira would do once he reached Arc Sophia, but there wasn't going to be a glitch so he could travel freely to the lower floors of Aincrad. If I do, then this will follow some of the Infinity Moment story line, as far as clearing the game goes. Everything that happens in ALPheim still happens as if the game had been cleared on the 75th floor. After that the timeline remains pretty even, though I'm not sure if I'll include Lost Song or not.**

 **As for Akira's relationship with Rain, it will all be based around his actions during his time playing ALO and in the real world. His time in SAO will have an impact on her, but it won't be the sole factor to decide their relationship overall. If I were to guess though, the one who ends up crushing hard is Akira. Akira sort of sees Rain as his savior, prior to their meeting, no one had heard his tale in SAO, save for Kikouka, the agent guy from the VR Deparment of the whatever branch of the government...it's been too freaking long. So yes, that will have an impact on him as well, plus Rain is cute overall. Will we see her sister Seven at all, maybe...I haven't decided.**

 **Well, that's it for now I guess...enjoy Chapter 2, the revamped version with edited paragraphs and added content. You could say that this is the version 2.0 of this chapter, kek...**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 2

New Friend

 _(December 3rd 2022, Black Iron Palace Town of Beginnings 1_ _st_ _Floor)_

The Black Iron Palace, was the largest castle on the first floor. It was located behind the central square in the Town of Beginnings. It was large, black and menacing, with large pillars standing tall around the building. The main entrance of the castle lacked gates of any sort, so unlike a traditional castle, anyone could come and go as they pleased. The large dome shone brightly when the sun was directly above it, giving it an almost deathly look. It also doubled as the games prison, as those who had committed infractions were locked withing its dungeons.

Deeper within the castle lay the Room of Resurrection. During the closed beta, this was the place where one would respawn if they had been killed within the game. However, since the official launch of the game, this room became redundant. Its very premise seemed to disgust several of the players in Aincrad. The fact that this room existed at all just plain angered them.

Within this room, lay the Monument of Life. Once known as the Wall of Swordsmen, this wall had the names of every player in the game. Those who had died, received two slash marks through their name, crossing them off the wall. Next to them was their time of death, and cause of death. Suicide littered most of them, while others simply stated Died in Battle.

A few players had volunteered to keep track of the death rate, which increased even more by the day. Over the first month, a few players banded together, forming the first major group in the game, the Aincrad Liberation Army. Most of the players in this group were those who needed some form of income...they handled mapping and mob killing, as well as item gathering. They had been in charge of searching for the first floor's boss room, which at this moment in time, was still eluding them.

The second group of people were the ones that didn't want to leave town. Those who figured this was all an elaborate scheme by Kayaba, or a prank of some sort, decided to stay in town. They had high hopes that they would be rescued soon, but after a month with no outside messages, they were starting to lose hope and become desperate, the need to make money became that much more apparent. Most of these players became beggars, and vagrants, even thieves. Why would you bother going out and increasing your skills? When you could just go after other players and pick pocket them. These were the first of many infractions in Aincrad.

The third group that had formed was the Proto-Assault team. This team was made up of players who didn't wish to join the army, but rather banded together with friends to form guilds or elaborate player teams. They searched dungeons, collected items and money and shared information with each other. From these players, one could expect to be the friendliest with, especially when they could sell you better equipment for cheap and you didn't have to lift a finger. They became an inspiration to some, much more than the Army was.

The final group was consisted of those player who wanted to explore the game and level up, but didn't wish to join up a guild or any other faction. These players became known as the Solo Players. The ones who did everything for self interest. They mapped, the looked for treasure, they fought monsters, but they never partied up with anyone.

Most of the Solo players were former Beta Testers, who didn't want to reveal that sensitive information to the public. The hatred toward them had only grown in the month everyone had spent in the game. They were viewed as the ones who got the jump on everyone and got the good spots, all the good treasure and the best equipment. They were frowned upon in Aincrad, and thus remained the most secretive of all the players.

Akira didn't know where exactly he fit in. He wasn't interested in joining the army, way too controlling for his taste. He didn't fit in with the ones that were in the Proto-Assault team, he had no reason to join a guild. He didn't expend his resources early, so a thief or a beggar was out of the question, not that it even attracted him. He did Solo most of the time. Sapphira was gone all the time.

The girl was always doing Fetch Quests or some other thing. In fact, it had been a week and a half since he had seen her. Thus, he came to the Monument of Life, if only to reassure himself that she was alright. He easily found her name, in between two that had been crossed out. He looked at all of the other crossed out names, a frown on his face. He looked back to the top, easily finding his own in the mass of names that had been written there. The person above him had recently been crossed out. Cause of death, falling from a great height. He could only assume that meant they jumped off the edge of Aincrad.

The entirety of the castle was built like a tower, each floor got consecutively smaller the higher you went up. The First Floor was the largest floor in the game. He had seen a few people contemplating jumping off the edge, but he'd never seen someone do it. One man had theorized that if he did die, he'd just wake up in his hospital bed and everything would be just fine, no one wanted to take his word for it, thus he was the first to go.

Footsteps echoed through the empty room, the only other person in the room was the one responsible for keeping track of the ones that died, however he was busy checking his inventory for something. Akira looked behind him, seeing a young man approaching the wall.

He looked to be around sixteen years old, with slightly tan skin. He had long light brown hair, barely reaching the nape of his neck. His bangs reached almost to his eyes, which were a light green color. He had a frown on his face, and bags under his eyes, most likely from lack of sleep. He was around Five Foot Nine, maybe an inch or two taller. He was wearing a long sleeved green shirt, with metal plates over it.

He also had a brown leather belt around his waist, which held his sheathed sword, as well as a small pouch which no doubt held his battle items and crystals. He was wearing matching black pants with brown leather boots, most likely the starting foot wear. He had armored gloves on, with half plates over his wrists. He came to a stop next to Akira, and lazily glanced at the wall. Akira looked back at it, a few more names had been crossed out, making him sigh a bit.

"10,000 people logged into this world, 219 died on the first day, and 2,000 were dead by the first month. I look at this and I still can't believe it." the teen said, earning an odd look from Akira.

"Most of these deaths could have been prevented, if those beta testers had taken the time to teach us how to play the damn game instead of just jetting off. Because of them, one of my friends is dead." he continued.

"People are dead because of their own mistakes. I've seen players just swinging their weapons around, no direction and no aim. They forget about their sword skills entirely. By the time their HP hits half, they become so scared that they just lock up. The basic monsters take them out. Level one Frenzy Boars and Dire Wolves, that aren't much stronger than the Slimes in other games. But you know the difference between them and me?" Akira asked, glancing back at the now interesting teen.

"What would that be?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not gonna die in this game." he said. With that, he turned around and made his way toward the exit. The other teen stood there, shocked to hear such a bold statement.

The sky was still blue when Akira made it outside. The sun had moved slightly, but it was still high in the sky. Several people walked around Town Square. The Clock read 1:37 PM Aincrad Standard Time. The far walls of the Town of Beginnings could be seen from the square. He opened his map, and set a marker toward the exit. He had come from the nearby settlement of Tolbana, which was half a days walk away. If he left now, he'd be able to make it by sundown. It was also the perfect time for some level grinding.

He found out quickly that level grinding in SAO was easier said than done. While some games had you leveling up rather quickly in the beginning, this one had a slow build up of Experience. In just over a month, he had reached level 6. The monsters around the Town of Beginnings wouldn't be an issue to him, but the ones near the labyrinth still posed a threat, as those were level seven and higher.

The Pillar could be seen from where he stood. Inside were twenty floors of dungeon. The idea was to reach the final room, where the boss would lay in wait. Everyone would fight it, and upon its defeat, one could move onto the next floor. At least according to Sapphira that's how it worked. Sadly, the closed beta and the official service was way different.

After leaving town, he followed the long dusty path that would lead him to Tolbana. Sure, he could run there and tire himself out, or he could take a leisurely stroll. After all, in the real world, he couldn't very well walk, so he might as well enjoy his time there.

He thought back to the real world, how his mother must be worrying over him, how his father must have canceled every business deal just to fly back to Japan. How his sister must have been devastated that she couldn't make it to her little brothers side. Kayaba had given them time to be taken to a hospital. He was sure he had been taken to a fancy hospital, something where he would get the best care even in his comatose state.. It must have been a major hassle to move him and others in a similar state to his own.

Akira himself had gotten lucky that Sapphira had approached him, or else he wouldn't have even known what to do in the game. He would have most likely died by then.

Whatever the case, at least he wasn't alone in this world. His brothers and sisters in arms were also there, so all they had to do was work together. That reassured him a little bit. He resumed his walk, hand over his weapon, just in case he'd need it. The fields were still clear, meaning a few players had gone through them for quick experience. He had to wonder, what kind of boss was the first floor keeping behind its closed labyrinth doors..was it a Minotaur? A Dragon? A Large Lamia? Hell, he expected at least one Kraken in the higher floors. Whatever it was, it was gonna be a tough battle, and he was at least happy he had started learning to use a One Handed Long Sword.

A howl alerted him of the presence of an enemy. One of the mobs on the first floor was a Dire Wolf, in the past he had been bitten on his leg. It had left deep wounds on it, though thankfully, there weren't any pain sensors in SAO, but rather a numb tingling sensation. He wasn't going to let that happen again. He drew his Mercury Dagger and sprung forward. The sound of a skill charging filled his ears as his dagger started glowing a bright yellow. Long trails of energy flew out from the weapon as it pierced the creature's chest. He landed in a crouch, and the sound of shattering glass filled his ears. He stood up, sheathing his dagger and checking his menu.

"234 Exp..not bad I guess." he muttered, closing the menu. His ear perked up a bit and he turned around, jumping a few steps back. He noticed that he had been followed. The path he had been walking on went down a bit, so he had to look up to see past the elevation. At the top of the small hill, was the teenager he had met back at the Black Iron Palace. He smiled and ran to catch up.

"Hey, it's about time I caught up to you. Man, I didn't know you had such a high AGI stat." he said.

"My current gear raises my AGI stat, as well as my STR stat. My third highest stat is EVI stat. But I take it you didn't follow me to know what kind of avatar I was going for." he said.

"True...I came here because of what you said. You sounded confident, and I just couldn't help tailing you. What you said was so bold."

"Yeah your point?" Akira asked.

"Party up with me, at least until the end of this quest. A friend of mine told me they found the boss room early this morning, and there's gonna be a raid on it tomorrow at 10 AM. I wanna get some last minute experience. All we have to do is kill some Beetles in the forest near Tolbana. I'm struggling to understand the combat system, and I could seriously use some help. What do you say?" he asked, holding his hand out. Akira narrowed his eyes for a few seconds thinking it over. He gave a slight nod, and shook hands with him.

"Awesome. Lets just use the same system me and my friend use, we party up, and whatever items you find, you keep and we divvy the money equally, sound good?" he asked. Akira nodded and sent the party request, which he immediately accepted. His HP bar was added underneath his own. He saw the name above it.

"Nick...is that a real name or an Avatar name?" he asked.

"Real name. I know, a newbie choice...but it was all I had to pick from at the beginning. Whats your real name?" he asked.

"Sorry, I don't like talking about the real world. It's sort of taboo." he said.

"Oh, right sorry. Guess I'll just call you Akira, you know the way to the forest right?" he asked.

"I've mapped out this entire floor for myself. I can set a waypoint." he said, pulling up his map, he set a marker for the forest near Tolbana and started heading toward it.

"So, this boss information, do you have it in detail?" Akira asked. Nick shook his head.

"Not all of it. All I know is that the boss's name is Ilfang the Kobold Lord. I'll be heading up the labyrinth tomorrow with the rest of the clearing team. What about you?" he asked.

"I might show up." Akira said with a shrug.

"Are you...even interested in clearing this floor?" Nick asked.

"I'm interested in seeing the rest of Aincrad. Could care less if we ever make it out of here." he replied.

"How can you even say something like that? We're being held captive on the whim of a madman, and you just casually brush it off like nothing?" he asked.

"Yup. It's a beautiful day, the breeze is blowing and I'm in good health..well..green HP. Whether I'm here, in town or in the real world, I'm glad to be alive. What's the point in sweating the small stuff? We leave when we leave." he said.

"Yeah, but the outside...don't you have family out there, friends?" Nick asked curiously. Akira stopped, giving him a scowl.

"I do, don't we all? My mother is most likely worried sick. My sister most likely came back from America, dumping her Nursing Classes just to be with me. And my father..he's probably disappointed in me. But I don't worry about that, because I can't do anything about it. I'm in this game, and I have to live in it. I would rather worry about what's going on here then stress about what's going on out there." he replied.

"Wish I had the balls to say something like that. Can't say I can speak like that though, after all one never knows when their time is up." he said.

"My time won't be up. I take all the proper precautions and ensure that I'll make it out of every bout I'm in." he said, resuming his walk.

"Ah, I take it your a Beta Tester then, I won't tell."

"Actually no. I'm not a Beta Tester, I'm a regular old newb like you." he said. He remained silent after that. He was more focused on finding the forest than actually talking. The faster he finished this quest, the faster he could get to Tolbana.

It didn't take the two teens long to reach the forest. It wasn't anything big, at least not like a rain forest or anything. It was lush and vibrant, filled with different kinds of trees, mostly oak trees. They were around thirty to forty feet tall, with long branches and thick boughs. A few old leaves littered the ground, or blew away in the soft breeze. He could see some squirrels scurrying about, looking for nuts or just plain running about.

It was quite dark in the forest, but light still filtered through the canopy. Stepping inside, the felt the atmosphere change a bit. It was a bit more humid in there, and it smelled of wet rotting leaves. A few other plants grew from the trunks of the trees, sometimes flowers other times some weird kind of mushroom. They avoided all of these as they walked further in.

"These beetles, where exactly are they located?" Akira asked.

"They should be in a clearing around here. I'm sure you should have faced a few before." Nick said, earning a nod from him.

"I have, but only two or three. Every other time I came to this forest, I never really saw any more of them. I did see the Honey Bees, still think they should be renamed though." he said, muttering the last part. Nick looked at him oddly, but shrugged it off as nothing.

The path through the woods became a little bigger as they started arriving at the the clearing. At the center of it, was a rather large Oak tree, way different than the other ones. This one was around a hundred feet tall, with dark green leaves. The trunk was a rich brown color, its bark having bits of white all around it. There was a large hole in the center of it, around the fifty foot mark, but this only served as a nest for the local fauna. A few broken branches, old leaves and acorns were on the soft green grass.

Akira finally noticed the enemies in the area. Large black colored Beetles. They looked just like they would in the real world, with large pincers that could probably tear a person in half. They were around the size of a mini fridge, with a brownish black exoskeleton and long legs that had tiny hairs growing from them. Their wings were well rounded and large, with tons of little crossing veins which were a dark black color. They had beady red eyes, and were snarling a bit as they flew around. The cursor above their heads was a yellow color, which was usual for a monster that hasn't noticed someone yet. It wouldn't be for long as he drew his dagger.

"How many of these things do we have to kill?" Akira asked.

"The Request said five and there's six of them here, so we're one over. How about three on three? First to finish buys dinner." he said wit ha smirk. Akira smiled.

"Challenge accepted."

Akira dashed forward with a burst of speed, finally alerting one of the beetles that was hovering around. He brought his dagger down, only for it to be caught in the creature's pincers. His eyes widened as he tried getting his weapon free. He gave it a good yank, getting it free, he flipped his weapon into a slashing motion and activated a skill. His blade glowed a bright red as he threw his arm forward.

"Side Bite." he shouted. His dagger rapidly slashed the creature across its abdomen, he threw a follow up slash, leaving a decent gash on the creatures body. It's HP was barely above the red. With a few quick slashes, he was able to defeat it. He blocked the incoming attack from the second beetle, and pushed it back with easy.

"Having trouble there Akira?" Nick asked, earning a look from the teen.

"Not really, you?" he asked.

"Still getting used to the skills, any pointers?"

"Just get into the proper motion, the system will do the rest. How can you not have learned this in the month we've been in game?" he asked, tossing a few slashes at the Beetle. He threw a kick to its thorax, sending it flying into the ground.

"To be honest with you, I just started leveling up. I didn't bother learning anything, thinking we'd get out soon. It was a stupid mistake." he said. His sword started glowing a bright blue, as he unleashed Vorpal Strike. The cone of energy that spiked from the skill exploded outward, sending some sticks and leaves flying through the air. The beetle he was fighting hit the yellow HP, and was stunned for a bit.

Akira focused on the battle once more, doing slight damage with his normal attacks. He had yet to reach level 2 in his mastery, so he had to wait for his skills to finish their cool down phase.

"Ha, look I'm winning." Nick said, finishing off the second beetle. Akira grit his teeth, he honestly didn't feel like wasting a ton of money on dinner. He flipped out of the way, landing in a crouch. He opened his menu and quickly replaced his Dagger with his one handed sword.

The sword appeared on his back, in a black leather sheath. Its handle was black, with a chrome colored pommel. He drew the sword from its sheath, revealing the obsidian blade. It was around 43 inches in length, with a pointed tip. The blade was sharpened to a razor edge. The blunt side of the blade was as dark as night. The cross guard was slightly in a V formation, with a jewel where the blade met the hilt. Akira smirked and ran forward, slashing the beetle. He pulled it back, a smile on his face.

"Slant."

His sword begun glowing a bright green, he ended up slashing the beetle cleanly in two. The trail of bright green light remained for a second or two before the creature burst into pixels. Akira ignored the rainbow colored triangles flying through the air, and focused on the final monster he had to face. It lunged for him and he side stepped, slashing its side and taking off one of its legs. He angled his blade, and it started to glow a bright lavender.

"Triple Slash." he shouted, his blade shot upward, leaving a large gash on the beetles body, it cried in pain as the skill continued, now sporting a second large gash. He finished the skill by slashing across, leaving the imprint of a perfect triangle the creature swelled a bit and burst into pixels. The message was displayed in front of him, telling him how many points he'd received.

"Ha ha, looks like I win the bet Nick." he said with a smile, only for it it be replaced with shock. Nick had finished a sword skill, and ended up missing his target. His eyes were wide in horror was he stood there, being unable to move. Akira dashed forward, giving a battle cry, his sword started glowing a bright blue.

"Cross Combination."

His shout tore through the forest clearing as he brought his sword down on the creature. He spun around, delivering a horizontal slash. He threw a diagonal slash from the left and rose it from the right. He finished the combo off with another horizontal slash. Several crossing blue tendrils of light were left behind, the beetle's HP bar hit zero and disappeared, along with said creature. Akira sighed, and glared at Nick.

"Sword Skills have a Post Skill Motion. The stronger the skill, the longer it is. I don't know what skill you used, but that margin of time was enough for that beetle to possibly finish you off. Don't let it happen again." he said, turning around and sheathing his sword, it fell into the scabbard with a light clack as he walked. Nick stood up, feeling a bit tired, he saw a menu pop up before him, and he looked at it confused.

"Hey uh, Akira...I got this pop up here and I can't read what it says." he said. Akira stopped and looked at the older teen, brow raised.

"Nick, when you used the Nerve Gear for the first time, what language did you set it to? And what language did you pick when you logged into SAO?" he asked.

"Uh...I was still getting used to the whole virtual keyboard thing, so I hit English on accident." he said sheepishly. Akira sighed and walked over to his side. He looked at the message, reading it to himself.

"Um...I don't know much but...essentially, it's saying you unlocked a new skill...Battle Healing, if I were to guess." he said.

"Battle Healing? That's a thing?"

"Yes it is..it's a skill that's in the guide book." he said.

"There lies the problem, I don't have a Japanese guide book." he said. Akira sighed.

"You're in luck, my friend Sapphira has a direct connection to the author and planned to get me an updated guide book for myself. I'm sure she can get it to you ASAP, if you got the Col that is." he said. Nick nodded, glancing back at the window.

"So, what do I do?" he asked.

"Well, right now it's asking you if you'd like to spend a point to unlock it, if you do, you will have it unlocked, and it will heal 10 HP points every ten seconds, to level it up, you have to spend long periods of time within the red margin of your HP bar, its a rather dangerous skill to level up, but a very useful one once it is leveled up." he said. Nick nodded and tapped the menu, the yes or no window popped up and he hit the blue circle button, unlocking the skill. He focused on his HP bar, seeing it start filling slowly.

"Well, looks like you won. I'll buy dinner tonight, for now lets focus on reaching Tolbana. Cover me while I regain some HP alright?"

"Yeah yeah." Akira said, waving him off, he decided to take the lead and head out of the woods.

They reached Tolbana a little after sunset, by then the sky had turned dark, and a few stars could be seen from the sides of the first floor. If one looked directly above though, all they would see would be the bottom of the second floor. Tolbana was a bit smaller than the Town of Beginnings, but it looked almost like a smaller version of it, with cobblestone streets and winding paths. There were a few squares each having a beautiful fountain in it.

A few trees were growing within the town, with vibrant green leaves and thin branches. Flowers were growing in a few areas, some of them were growing in flower gardens owned by the resident NPCs. Smaller shops and stands were littered here and there. It was the current base of operations for the clearing team, it was also the closest town to the labyrinth, so it gave everyone equal access to the dungeons leading up to the second floor.

Akira was sitting in a bench, situated in one of Tolbana's parks. It wasn't a big park, but it did have everything one would expect, a swing set, which could fit three kids and a toddler, it also had a jungle gym, with purple colored monkey bars. It featured three slides, a twisty slide, a simple slide, and a slide for two people. It also had a Tic Tac Toe board on it, as well as a sand box. Most of the little NPC kids were either making sand castles, or on the swings, few ever went over to the jungle gym, except those few brave ones that dared go down the twisty slide.

He was just watching the kids play. Sure, he knew they weren't truly real, but their laughter and cries of joy made him feel as if they were. He saw their mothers watching them closely, smiles on their faces...some of the fathers were playing catch with their sons, and having a great time. He smiled a bit, remembering when he was that age, just running around playing with his pet dog when it was still alive, as well as with his mother, who to this day still played in the sandbox.

He jolted a bit when he felt someone sit beside him. He sighed when he noticed it was only Nick. The teen smiled, holding a crepe to him. It wasn't much, considering the other options they did have on the first floor, but at least they would satiate their hunger for a while.

"You okay? You seem distant." he said, taking a bite of his digital food.

"Yeah I'm fine...just watching the kids playing with their friends."

"Remind you of yourself?" he asked.

"Hehe, a little bit. Like that one little boy over there, with orange shirt. He's confident in himself when he's on the monkey bars, but he hasn't been anywhere near the twisty slide yet. Then that little girl over there gets shy every time someone else approaches her. It's amazing, to know that all of this is just data...and know that they behave just like real kids would." he said.

"I kind of forget that I'm in a game sometimes. When I'm at the inn, laying in bed and looking at the ceiling, I just picture myself back at home, laying down on my bed, with all my games and figurines all around me. My computer beeping slightly because of some thing that's alerting me, the stereo playing Crown the Empire." he said, with a smile on his face. Akira rose his brow, a small smile tugging his lips.

"What? I like the classics man. Their not that old." he said.

"Oh know, I'm pretty sure their the Madonna of the Twenty Twenties." he said with a chuckle. Nick punched his arm, making him laugh. He was sure if it wasn't for the AREA system, he'd have lost one or two HP points.

"Wait a minute, were you the one who was trying to sync his playlist to the game?" Akira suddenly asked, earning a curious look from Nick.

"No, but I thought that guy was a total tool." he said, both of them chuckled. Akira sighed, glancing at the pillar in the distance.

"So, tomorrow's the big day...the day everyone clears the first floor. We'll finally be able to kiss this place goodbye and move on." he said.

"I'm sure the Town of Beginnings is still gonna be a base of sorts until we clear more floors. Makes me wonder what Floor 2 looks like." Akira replied, finishing his crape. He wiped his mouth with his napkin, allowing it to shatter after he was done. He still wasn't used to the durability everything in the game had, so he always tried tossing trash away, before realizing they would just break apart anyway.

"Me too man. You actually think they can clear this entire game though? We're just two specks of dust, we don't matter." he said.

"Nick, we do matter, we may be just two players among 8,000 others, but what makes us more important than them, is that we actually have the drive to move on, to leave the Town of Beginnings, to leave the First Floor and explore the vast land that is Aincrad. So what if we're trapped? If we don't enjoy ourselves, than what's the point of being here? You might as well take a swan dive off the edge of the map." he said.

He looked at his clock, seeing just how late it was, he stood up and stretched his tired limbs. He looked up at the distant Pillar, nodding to himself.

"Alright, this is where we part ways. I gotta get a good nights sleep if I want to fight that boss. We'll meet up with the raid party tomorrow...they'll be at the main square right?"

"That's what my friend Morrison said. He at least had the goddamn common courtesy to use the Japanese keyboard. He said Main Square at 10AM, get ready for the climb of your life. Ooh, just what we needed, virtual stairs." he said, making Akira chuckle.

"Catch ya later Nick." he said giving the teen a wave.

He headed down a nearby street, heading toward the Inn he had used the last time he had been in town. The night life in Tolbana was probably around the same as the day time, except it was mostly players rather than NPCs. All of the street lamps had gone on not that long ago, giving the whole town a light glow. He reached the Inn, and as he walked in, the familiar message alert popped up. Though upon closer inspection, he saw that it was actually a friend request. He tapped the button, opening the window.

" _Player Nick wants to be your friend, Accept or Decline?"_

Akira felt like an idiot. He partied with this guy all day and he didn't bother sending a friend request. He tapped the accept button, and Nick was added to his already dry friends list. He chuckled, seeing only two names in it.

"Maybe I could make some friends sometime." he muttered.

"Maybe you could."

He turned around, seeing a cloaked person behind him. They took their cloak off, revealing their face. He sighed with relief, a smile on his face.

"Sapphira, it's a about time you showed up. Jeez you scared the hell out of me." he said, pulling the girl in for a hug. She giggled, hugging him back.

"Sorry, I was doing some final mapping on the labyrinth, I'm sure you know about the raid tomorrow." she said.

"I do, a friend told me about it." he said.

"Oh? You actually met someone? What's her name?"

"Actually, it's a he, and his name is Nick." he said with a shrug.

They walked further into the inn. Since it was still in the starting floor, the inns weren't as spacious as one would expect. There was a front counter, along with a hall near it that led to the rooms. If one wanted to rent one, they had to talk to the inn keeper, an generic old man NPC. He was about to pay for his room when Sapphira took his arm.

"Don't worry, I'll let you crash in my suite tonight. You get the floor." she said with a wink.

"Oh boy virtual torture." he deadpanned.

"It's not so bad. Besides, the beds aren't any better." she said. He rolled his eyes and followed suit.

The suite was as generic as they got. There was a single bed in the corner of the room, a small table with a single chair, along with a bookshelf, which was filled with a few texts, but nothing of importance...mostly stuff to kill boredom. There was also a small window in the room, with a white wooden window sill and single pane glass. The walls were a beige color. There was also a bathroom, and even though no one really used it in Aincrad, it was still there for all intents and purposes. Akira quickly claimed the chair, while Moore sat down on the bed. She sighed contently, laying back on it.

"Man, today was virtual hell. After finding the boss room, we had to go back and map the spots we'd miss. There's no corridor crystals on sale down here, so we have no direct way to the boss room unless we walk our asses up there. By the time we do get up there, we'll be tired as hell." she said.

"That's wonderful. Well, I was able to finish a quest today, with the experience from it, I was able to make Level Six. All of the Fetch Quests were taken, I presume you took them all?" he asked.

"Nope, I took two this morning, but I didn't take any others. Anyway, we should get some rest, it's a big day tomorrow. Oh, by the way, add me to your party, I already told Diavel, the raid leader that I had a party waiting back in town."

"Okay...you sure about this?" he asked, pulling up the menu. She nodded and opened her own. After accepting the quest, she opened her equipment.

"We were told to get into parties of six or more. My party is Squad H, we'll be stepping in for G when they need to heal. Ilfang isn't a particularly difficult boss, you just have to watch its Talwar. It starts with an Ax and Buckler and changes when it its HP hits the Red."

"Okay. I'll be sure to remember that." he said with a yawn.

"Before you crash, I got some stuff for you. Did you decide to level Rapiers or are you sticking with Swords for now?" she asked.

"I couldn't find any good Rapiers, so I'll be switching between Daggers and Swords every now and again." he said. She opened the trade menu, and started placing stuff inside it.

"I got you a cloak, it's rather generic but it raises your Hiding Skill, plus it will make you look cool. I also got you this Anneal Dagger from a boss drop in the Labyrinth. It should boost your attack and DPS for the time being. I was trying to get you a matching sword, but the guy I was talking too didn't want to sell it." she said.

"Sapphira, you don't have to give me all this stuff you know." he said, his eyes scanning the items. He saw a few more potions in there, along with new boots and arm guards, even a bronze chest plate.

"It's fine. It's all stuff that wouldn't work for me, since I'm aiming to be a Great Sword user, I'll need some heavier armor than this stuff, so it's all useless to me." she said. He nodded, hitting the accept button, all of the stuff transferred to his storage.

"I got a lot of ore from one of my quests, when I find a decent NPC smithy, I'll get you something...maybe some new armor." he said.

"Okay, I guess that'll do. Akira...let's win tomorrow okay? We've come this far so we can't give up now." she said.

"No doubt...I want to see what Aincrad has in store for me. I wanna reach above and beyond, and not even Kayaba is going to stop me." he said, a grin on his face. Sapphira looked at him oddly.

" _Is he seriously enjoying his time here? I see this game as nothing more than a death trap and yet, he's actually pleased that he got stuck in it. What's you're angle Akira?"_ she thought to herself.

"Well, I'll go to sleep now. Big day tomorrow, after all...night."

"Wait...here." she said, handing him a pillow. He looked at it oddly, taking it from her hand. It was worn and lumpy and didn't even look comfortable. He placed it on the floor, settling his head into it.

"Thanks Sapphira, this pillow smells like farts, but it's better than smelling the floor boards." he said.

"No problem, by the way that scent was already on it. You can't fart in this game." she said, turning off the lights.

"I figured as much."

xxx

"So you met another person in the game?" Rain asked curiously.

"Mhmm, Nick was one of my close friends in SAO. Not only was he a cool dude, but he also shared in my mentality. Later on, we attacked the frontlines together. Things however would be changing a bit, now that we had gotten to the first boss battle. It would become...difficult." he said.

"But you seemed to have enjoyed yourself. Among everyone that survived, you seem to be one of the few that actually enjoyed it. Say, weren't you in an interview on television a month after the game ended?" Rain asked.

"Yes I was, did you see it?" he asked.

"I did...wait...I remember you being...oh my god, you're in a wheel chair right?" she asked, eyes widening.

"Yup, now you get why I loved the game so much? Sword Art Online was a trap for 10,000 players, but for me...It was a second chance at life. I didn't need my legs in that game, not when my avatar was controlled by my mind. And even now I don't need them...I can truly be free. With a steel sword, you could travel anywhere you wanted. You could be who you wanted, all you needed was a little motivation."

"Motivation...wish I had that back then." Rain muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something?" he asked. Her eyes widened and she shook her head.

"No no, I didn't say anything. Hey, would you like to head to the park? There's a swing set there and I sort of want to get away from this area. A lot more people have logged on." she said, looking at the crowd of new players. Akira nodded and jumped off the wall.

"Lead the way then Lady Rain, I shall follow close behind."

"I'm not a princess though." she said, blushing a bit.

"No, I think Knight would suit you better, and if you're a knight then you can call me an Assassin. Oh, I wanna look for a way point."

"Alright Ezio, don't get ahead of yourself." Rain said, making the boy chuckle.

"Hmm...well I'll tell you about the next day then...another day that changed my life while playing SAO. It was also the day where I met one of the best players in the game." he said.


	3. Aincrad Arc: Notions of a Beater

**A/N: Money's On the Way with Cash Net USA!**

 **How's that for a greeting? I don't even know honestly.**

 **Welcome to chapter 3 of the Violet Assassin!**

 **This Chapter will take us to the First Floor Boss Raid. It's basically the same thing as the Secret Elite...I just did some editing fixes, changed a few names and added a few things. If you all must know, I changed Moore's name to Sapphira because I thought it would sound better. I just wanted to toss in as many references to various things as I could. And if you know where the name originates, then drop a review, because you are awesome if you know where I got it from.**

 **I haven't really decided if I'll continue the story from Floor 75 and Onward. I actually spent like an hour coming up with names for all of the Floors in Aincrad. Aside from all of the names mentioned in the anime for the various floors, at least 75 floors remained unnamed. I used the names from SAO Hollow Fragment for floors 76-100 but all of the other floors that were unnamed got a new name from me. I might continue, I might not it all depends on the mood.**

 **I am also trying to make Rain and Akira's bond be as real as I can. I'm sure Rain knows a lot about Akira, especially with her knack of following people without being seen. That's actually something that will become a major part of this story on the later floors. I will also be sure to add more ALO and IRL stuff inbetween the SAO stuff to keep it fresh. I don't want my story to just turn into a generic rehash of the anime series.**

 **I'm also going to include various other characters, since this takes place between the end of Fairy Dance and the beginning of the Phantom Bullet, I will try to include people like Alicia Rue and Sakuya into the story. What Akira doesn't know is that he knows Sakuya IRL but never suspected her to be the same woman who spends her time leading the Sylphs. There's also a bit of an argument with Alicia Rue when Akira first logged into ALO and his reasoning for becoming a Cait Sith. Just so you know, before Akira was an Imp, he was a Cait Sith, but when he transferred his SAO data into ALO, he changed his race to Imp because of the darkness magic and the night vision that race got.**

 **Well I guess that's it for now...I hope you enjoy Chapter 3 of this story and let me know if you see any mistakes or if I missed anything...your help is much appreciated!**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 3

Notions of a Beater

 _(December 4_ _th_ _2022 9AM: Tolbana 1_ _st_ _Floor)_

Akira rubbed his eyes. It was way too early for him to be up. Considering the night before, he hadn't gotten to sleep until around 1 in the morning. Sapphira tossed and turned a lot, muttering things in her sleep, so that had him worried a bit, after that he essentially passed out. He had awakened to her shouting for him to get up and slammed his forehead into the nearby table. He had unconsciously moved around in his sleep, so for a good few minutes, he sported a pixelated bruise on his forehead. Luckily for him, by the time he made it out into the town, it was gone.

So now he was leaning back against a tree, wearing a cloak that Sapphira had given him the night before. It was light gray in color, with black laces to kept it firmly secured around the neck, it reached to around his knees and had a golden hem, other than that, it was a pretty basic cloak. Sapphira had said that it rose his Hiding Skill, which he had barely begun to level up. The town of Tolbana was rather active this morning. The area where they were waited had several merchants peddling wares, some offered actually good equipment, while others just sold items that were more or less uninteresting. Some sold food, others armor, and some sold weapons. Most of them were getting decent attention from players. There was one long line at the nearby food cart. That was the thing about SAO...even if you knew your real body was being force fed in the hospital, you'd still get hungry. It wasn't anything you could avoid either, if you were hungry, it wouldn't go away until you actually ate something. It was one of the reasons people lost most of their money during their first month, food.

Even though all you could buy in the morning were some plain donuts, bits of black bread and some form of fruit or vegetable, it was better than going hungry. The cheapest thing was black bread, at one Col a piece, he didn't know what the most expensive food item on the first floor was, or he'd be tempted to buy it.

"Here, idiot, you didn't grab anything from the inn before we left." Sapphira said, tossing him an apple. He barely caught it, but was glad he did before it hit the floor. He didn't know how long its durability would last, so it was better to try and catch it than to miss and let it shatter into millions of pixels. He smiled sheepishly.

"Thanks Sapph." he said, taking a bite from the juicy fruit. He smiled, loving the taste. That was another thing he loved about Aincrad, even though they were eating data, the system fooled your brain into thinking you were tasting the real thing. It was just stimulation to certain parts of the brain, and the apple was just data..but to him, it was just an apple. Red, juicy goodness.

"You're welcome. Won't be long before we clear a floor that sells steak...and bacon." she said, almost salivating at the thought.

"Hey Akira, it's good to see ya."

Akira looked up from his breakfast, seeing Nick, followed by another young man. He was probably around seventeen or eighteen years old, as he was slightly taller than him and Nick. He had a pale complexion, with bright red eyes. He had long smooth violet hair, which he had tied back with a bandanna. He had a wide nose, and a small mouth, his upper lip was dotted with a bit of facial hair. He was lean, wearing a sleeveless black shirt, with chain mail over it. He wore matching pants and black boots, he also wore leg armor, which kept his legs protected from attack. He had thick leather gloves on his arms, and wore a gauntlet over his right arm. He had a thin looking rapier strapped to his side. He remained quiet as they came to a stop in front of the two unknown players.

"Oh, hey Nick, good morning." Akira said.

"I'm glad you got here early, I wanted you to meet my friend. This is Morrison, he's a Rapier user..I like to call him Frenchy." he said. The teen narrowed his eyes.

"For ze last time Nicholas, I'd like for you to stop calling me Frenchy." the teen said, with a very noticeable French accent.

"I didn't know there were French players here." Sapphira said, a curious look on her face.

"Oh, he's not French...well he is...he's from Quebec...he's like the French except, Fresher." Nick said.

"Vous le cul." the teen swore under his breath. Nick smiled.

"Yeah, what he said." Nick said, clapping his shoulder.

"Well, its nice to meet you Morrison, my name is Akira. This is my friend Sapphira, we met back on Launch day." he said.

"Its very nice to meet you Monsieur Akira and Mademoiselle Sapphira." he said, a smile on his face.

"It's uh...nice to meet you too." Sapphira said, a bit put off by his smile. Akira shrugged it off, and bit into his apple.

"Well, I guess we should add him to the party. I'll be the party leader this time, when ever it is this Diavel guy gets here, is when we'll leave. I haven't actually met the guy so just let me know." he said, opening the party options. He clicked Add member and sent the request to Morrison, who quickly accepted it, his HP bar appeared below Sapphira and Nick's. He closed the menu and looked around, seeing the other parties arriving in the plaza. A few were standing around with their friends, others were waiting on their own. There was one lone black haired teen, leaning against the far wall. He looked a little bored, almost as if he didn't really care to be there. The handle of his sword could barely be seen. Sapphira and him shared a look but she quickly looked away, huffing to herself.

"What, what's wrong?"

"That guy over there, the one with the black hair...he found a rare sword not to long ago, and I tried to buy it off of him for 1,000 col. He refused of course...and I'm a little mad." she said.

"Well, it's a life or death situation. I don't blame him for turning you down." he said firmly. She clicked her tongue and looked away, arms crossed.

"Well, for your information, I was trying to get that sword for you. You're the first and only friend I have in this world, and I don't want you to die. That being said, you should be thankful that I'm actually bothering to find good armor for you." she said, walking away.

"Ooh, looks like you pissed her off bro. You gotta take care of the women man, there aren't that many in SAO." Nick said. Akira glared at him, but realized he was right. Sapphira had been there since the beginning, he had to at least apologize to her.

"I'll go look for her. Just message me when it's go time alright?" He said, walking off. He tossed his apple core into the nearby trash can, completely forgetting about the durability. At this point, he didn't care.

He ducked and weaved through the crowd, avoiding as many people as he could. He didn't know the raid party was gonna be so big, there was at least a hundred players, if not more here. He tried looking for a head of green hair, but couldn't see anyone. He jumped up on a bench, trying too look around, but saw no one that fit her description. He sighed, and started getting off the bench, that is until he slipped and ended up falling off of it. He slammed into the ground hard, forcing the air out of his lungs. True, he didn't need to breath in the game, but it was just a reflex to him now. He lay there, groaning a bit from the sudden stimuli that he didn't a person kneel next to him.

"Hey, you alright?"

He looked at her and nodded, getting into a sitting position. He rubbed the back of his neck, brushing off some of the dust and dirt that had collected on his cloak.

"I'm good, thanks for being concerned." he said. The girl smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing." she said. He stood up, brushing his clothes free of wrinkles.

The girl that had helped him looked at him oddly. She stood a bit shorter than him, maybe around five foot four. She had a very tan complexion, to the point that it almost looked sprayed on, though he was sure that wasn't the case. She was wearing a white sundress, that reached down to her mid thigh. She wore some armor that accented her breasts a lot, he didn't even know that kind of armor existed, but it did. She had a belt around her waist, sporting a few designs on it, the buckle had the zodiac sign of the Aries constellation.

She had a fanny pack on her left side, and a mace strapped to the other. It was a Morning Star, one of the basic kinds of maces you could get in Aincrad's first floor, though this one looked a bit stronger than that, with several menacing spikes sticking out from the round head. She was wearing black leather boots with a slight heel, that reached to just below the knee, the tops of them were folded down, giving them the look of pirate boots. She had matching gloves on her arms that reached to her biceps. She was wearing a black choker, with a few spikes coming out of it. Long pink tresses cascaded down her shoulders, reaching to about mid back. She left some bangs to cover a bit of her pink eyes. She didn't look like someone who'd fit in with the rest of the crowd, she stuck out to say the least.

"You are not from Japan yes?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No, America actually, I've been living in Japan for awhile though...are you...Italian?"

"Si, mia famiglia come from Italia. I was born in Italia and raised con mi nonna and cugini." she said with a small smile. He blinked a few times, only getting a few of the worlds. She sighed.

"Sorry, my Japanese...its not very good." she said.

"No no, its nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, I'm glad to have met such an amazing person. I feel like its kind of an insult when everyone here expected just Japan to be logged into this game." he said with a shrug.

"It's good to hear that. My name is Aries, I bet you could see that from my belt buckle." she replied.

"I sort of figured, you wouldn't name yourself Ram would you? Anyway, my name is Akira. Its nice to make your acquaintance Aries. Say, you haven't seen a girl walk past here have you? With bright green hair, she's Japanese, and she has a long sword sheathed to her back."

She adopted a pensive look, eyes narrowed and finger to her chin. She gasp, a smile on her face.

"I did, Ando Iaggiu." she said happily, pointing to a nearby alleyway.

"Over there huh? Thanks a lot Aries." he said, heading off toward the alleyway.

"Ehi, can I come too?" she asked.

"Why not. Say, you got any friends here in Aincrad? You don't seem like the social type." he asked. The girl fell into pace with him and shook her head.

"Mi famiglia, they visit Japan on a trip around the world. We just came in from Europa when the Nerve Gear hit shelves. I wanted to try it, so we pool our money together and bought one. Sword Art Online launched, and I told mi cugino, that's..uh..cousin I think, yes..I told my cousin Emilia that I would go first. I was surprised to learn about what Kayaba was doing to us, but I grew...how you say..used to it." she said, adding air quotes after her sentence.

"So, you just happened to be in Japan when all of the shit hit the fan. It seems like the ratio of players being foreigners is actually increasing, at least in my opinion. Hell, if there's 10,000 people that originally logged into this game, I would hope at least one or two of them would be foreigners. I never really met an Italian girl, I guess I can cross that off my bucket list." he said with a chuckle. Aries giggled, a smile on her face.

"It's my first time meeting an Americano. Let alone one who can understand me. Most people...they tend to ignore me when they hear the heavy Italian accent. I don't blame them." she said.

"I take it you have no friends here in Aincrad because of this language barrier right?" he said, she nodded sadly.

It made him a bit sad, he knew how hard it was to understand another language. But the difference between him and her was that he understood both English and Japanese. She could barely understand anything herself, add in her Italian accent and you made for a very stressful situation.

They reached the nearby alleyway, where they found a very pissed off looking Sapphira. She was scrolling through her menu and muttering things that would make mom's block their kids ears. She glanced up from the menu in front of her, only to get angrier.

"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want me to bother getting you new equipment." she said.

"Okay, now your putting words in my mouth. Sapphira, I'm happy that your using your resources and information to help me out, but the fact of the matter is, not a lot of people will be willing to sell their equipment. That's how it is." he said. She sighed, flicking her menu closed.

"I know, I'm just annoyed. There's a ton of fuckboys out there being die hard fuckboys." she said.

"Uh...whatever that means..sure. Also, I made a new friend, I'd like you to meet Aries, she's Italian." he said, pushing the pink haired girl forward. Sapphira scanned her over, humming to herself.

"Hmm, nice dress, good looking armor, interesting weapon choice. I'm assuming those greaves and gloves are leather?" She asked.

"Si, black leather. It was a monster drop in the dungeon caverns not to far from here." She replied.

"Oh man...you have the cutest accent ever. We should totally friend up, you and I will be the bestest buddies." she said excitedly.

" _Funny how Sapphira can go from clearly pissed to overly happy...maybe she's bipolar?"_ Akira mused.

"Si si, I would like it if you became mi amiga..my friend." Aries said with a smile. Sapphira swiped her menu open and quickly sent her a request.

"Definitely. You and I will be the best of friends, considering the others I've met are guys." she said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Akira replied, crossing his arms. Aries accepted the request, a squeal of joy passing through her lips.

"Grazie Grazie, I finally have a friend."

"Might as well friend you too." Akira said, sending her a request. She gratefully accepted, being overjoyed to have some friends to talk too. She glanced at the clock, seeing that it was 10:00. she gasped.

"Porca Puttana, it's ten o'clock...we gonna be late." she said.

"Shit! Come on, lets head back to the others. Aries, join up our party would you? We wouldn't mind having another person backing us up." Sapphira said, leading them back to the square.

"Yes of course. I'd be glad to join up." she said. Akira sent the party request, and soon enough, her HP bar was added to all the other ones. They made it back to the square, just as everyone was about to leave. Nick and Morrison caught up to them, serious looks on their face.

"It's about time, we were about to leave without you."

"Sorry, it took us a little longer. This is Aries by the way, a new party member." he said, introducing their new addition to the two boys.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you Mademoiselle Aries, you look quite lovely." Morrison greeted.

"Eh he he, it's a...nice to meet you too Morrison." she replied.

"Is everyone here?"

Akira looked toward the source of the voice. It came from a blue haired man, who was older than them, perhaps around his early to mid twenties. He had light blue hair, and bright colored eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved blue shirt, underneath his black armor. He had on two shoulder pauldrons, which were attached to his shoulder with thick leather belts. He was wearing a chest plate and a back plate that matched the two pauldrons, and were polished to a shine. He was wearing matching white pants and black boots. He also had on black vembraces that matched the rest of his armor. He had a shield strapped to his back, though Akira couldn't see what it looked like. He also had a long sword sheathed to his waist. Akira gave him a nod, and he smiled.

"Alright then, lets head to the boss room. We'll follow the west path that leads out of Tolbana. Stay in your parties, and if you run into any monsters, be careful when you try to fight them." Diabel said. With that, everyone started heading for the boss room.

It took them a few hours, but they had finally made it to the top of the Labyrinth. Akira wasn't expecting it to be so far up. Each floor was set up like a maze, with crossroads and perpendicular paths to follow. Of course, since Diabel had the map data, they easily found the way towards the stairs that would lead to the next floor.

The whole way there, he was reminded of one of his mother's favorite games, though that one game had dungeon maps that changed every time they went into the dungeon. He hoped the higher floors didn't work that way. They stopped before the large stone doors. They were light blue in color, most likely made of sandstone or some other material. It had a few designs on it, mostly spirals and a few notches on it. Diabel stopped before it, stabbing his sword into the ground.

"Alright, I have one thing to say before we go in...lets win. We're all here, we're all strong, we'll be the ones to conquer this floor. Together, we can clear this game. The ones back in the Town of Beginnings will finally understand, we're not trapped here, it is possible to win." he said.

Everyone cheered loudly, earning a smile from him. He turned around and pushed the doors open. They opened slowly, with a long drown out creak before they hit the wall with a loud slam. Everyone slowly made their way into the room, looking around for the boss.

The marble floors seemed to shine a little bit with the low amount of light that was currently pleasant. Pillars of black stone lined the floor, which looked like one large rectangular hallway, its sides were filled with beautiful stained glass windows. The room suddenly lit up, and everyone caught sight of the boss, Ilfang the Kobold Lord.

The creature was big, and reminded him of a large dog, its arms rippled with muscles, it wore a helmet on its head, which left its face and snout exposed, its mouth was filled with sharp looking teeth, and its snarl instantly shook fear into the minds of the players. It had a round buckler on its left arm, beside it sat its axe. Akira caught sight of another handle, most likely its Talwar.

The creature roared, the sound traveled through the room, blasting everyone's ears. It jumped down from its throne, wielding its axe before it. Its name appeared above its cursor, and its Four HP bars appeared next to it. Before it, its minions materialized, 12 Ruin Kobold Sentinels, each wearing full body armor and wielding Halberds.

"Charge." Diabel shouted, heaving his sword forth. Everyone broke into a sprint, running full speed to intercept the monsters. Several metal clangs rung through the room, as everyone parried an attack.

Akira grit his teeth and pushed his sword forward, making the Kobold Sentinel stumble back. He spun on his heel, letting out a loud cry as he swing his sword, clashing with its armor. A few points of HP dropped from the green bar, as the creature had tanked the hit. His eyes widened a bit, but that only served to fuel his drive. The sentinel swung its halberd, the tip glowing pink. Akira activated a sword skill, and used it to parry the hit, stunning the creature.

"Sapphira, switch in." he shouted.

"Got it." the girl replied, Akira dashed back allowing her to run in. her sword glowed a vibrant purple as she unleashed a Sonic Leap. She struck the center of the Sentinel's chest, leaving a large red hole in the center of its armor. Its HP bar hit the red.

"Someone, switch in." She cried.

"I got it." Aries cried out, she dashed forward, holding her Morning Star over head. It glowed a bright pink as she started her Sword Skill. A trail of pink light was left in its wake as she slammed it onto the Sentinel's helmet.

"Power Strike." she shouted. The impact was strong enough to not only shatter the helmet the Sentinel was wearing, but it also kicked up some dust around them. Its HP hit zero and it burst into pixels, making the Italian girl smile.

"Nice one Aries. Lets go, there's still a few others to take care of." Akira said, running toward the nearest minion.

"Squad A and B, switch out and let C and D go in." Diabel called out. Two groups of players ran in, while others retreated back, and started focusing on their HP. Illfang's HP was still at over half, and it was currently blocking all the hits it could with its buckler. It roared loudly, stunning a few of the players that were attacking it. It took its chance to hit them with its axe, sending them flying back.

"Squad E, help C and D, F and G start flanking it from the sides, H stay on stand by."

"You got it." Akira called back, blocking the hit from the Sentinel they were currently fighting. He easily pushed it back, allowing Morrison to attack it with a Linear. Nick switched in, using a Slant to finish it off.

"That's the last minion. Now what?" he asked, tightly holding its sword. Akira looked around, seeing a few players trying to avoid being hit by Illfang's large axe. A few of them were at half health, while some were dangerously in the red.

"Help out those in the red as best you can, wait for further orders from Diabel." he said, heading toward the nearest player. He slid in front of him and pulled him back. The teen had a strained look on his face, sweat was dripping from his forehead, he looked up seeing Akira's worried look.

"Thank you." he muttered.

"No problem. Here drink this potion." he said, handing him a vial of red liquid. The teen quickly gulped it down and watched as his HP went back into the green. Once back on his feet, Akira moved on to the nearest player in need of help.

"Quick, Squad H, get it into the red." Diabel suddenly cried out.

Akira nodded and looked to his party members, each sharing the same look. They raced forward, unleashing a battle cry. Nick went in first, striking at its Buckler with the tip of his sword. This forced Illfang to attempt to block it. Nick smirked, successful in his feint, Morrison went in, sword glowing as he unleashing Streak. The red skill tore through the air, leaving thick tendrils of energy behind as he slashed Illfang's chest. It roared in pain, and a few points dropped from its third HP bar, finally getting it into its fourth. Morrison jumped back.

"All yours Mademoiselle Sapphira." he said.

"Got it, this one's gonna hurt." she cried, using an upper Slant. The skill left a large gash across Illfang's chest, stunning it for a few seconds.

"Il mio turno. Silent Blow." Aries cried out, slamming her mace into Illfang's leg, the curved arc of her swing trailed behind the mace head, and Illfang's cries of pain filled their ears. She jumped back, just in time for her to see Akira dash past her at full speed. The trail of wind left behind was enough to ruffle her clothing, forcing her to keep her skirt down so no one would look.

"This is it. Star Quint Prominence." he shouted.

He delivered a fierce upward slash, once it hit its peak he dragged the sword down and then to the left. He curved it up and dragged it to the right, he finished the combo by dragging his sword down in a diagonal slash, making a red star appear on Illfang's body. Its HP dropped into the red, most likely at around 25% HP. He waited for the Post Skill Motion to end before jumping back. Illfang stood stock still for a few moments before it tossed its shield and buckler aside, both clanging to the ground with a metallic slam.

"Heh, looks like the guide book was right." someone said.

"Alright, I got this." Diabel cried, running forward, sword glowing a bright yellow.

Illfang reached around its back, firmly grasping the hilt of the sword that was sheathed behind it. It drew it out, Sapphira's eyes widened a bit when she saw it. She gasped, placing a hand over her mouth.

"No...but that's a.."

"Sapphira, what's wrong?" Akira cried out, earning a few passing glances from the others.

"Wait, Diabel its no good."

It seemed someone else had noticed the difference as well. Diabel reached the center of the room, about to strike the large creature. Illfang jumped into the air, forcing him to stop in his tracks. It jumped from pillar to pillar, dashing all around the room.

"What the?" he cried in shock. In a fraction of a second, Illfang was before him, sword skill already initiated. He slashed its weapon cleanly across his chest, sending him flying back. Diabel slammed into the ground, a large gash across his chest.

"Diabel."

Illfang landed before everyone, roaring loudly. Sapphira swallowed the lump in her throat, watching as a black haired teen raced toward their fallen leaders side. Akira shook her a bit, getting her out of her thoughts.

"Sapph, tell me what's wrong. What the hell is going on?" he shouted.

"That weapon...it's not a Talwar, it's a Nodachi. With that, it has access to Katana skills." she replied.

"Fanculo, it kill Diabel." Aries cried out, pointing at their leader, who just burst into pixels. The teen that had offered up one of his potions looked at the pixels shocked. Everyone stood stock still, forgetting entirely about Illfang and the fact that it was still alive. Akira tightly gripped his sword.

"We gotta do something...we..gotta attack it." Nick said, shock still evident on its face.

"Non e possible. It has a different sword...the guide...the guide lied..the beta testers were wrong." Morrison cried out, anger clear in his voice. This seemed to tear Sapphira's heart apart, as a few tears slipped from her eyes. Akira looked back at Illfang, who had used a sword skill on the nearby players, giving them a stun status. He let out a shout, running past all his fallen comrades, anger clear in his voice.

"You Mother Fucker. You didn't need to do that...because of you, someone is fucking dead." he shouted, clashing with Illfang.

He swore the creature smirked as it easily pushed him away. He slammed into the floor, sliding across the marble and losing a few HP points. He quickly stood up and ran forward, just as Illfang pulled its Nodachi back, which begun glowing a holy white color. Akira ripped his cloak off and tossed it in front of himself, using it as a feint. Illfang swung its sword clean through it, tear it in half before it burst into pixels and was reclaimed by the system. Akira let out a shout and delivered a Slant to Illfang's arm, knocking a few points off its bar.

It roared in pain and slammed its tail into him, sending him flying into the ceiling. He cried from the shock before falling to the floor, landing in a crumbled heap. He struggled to get up, his HP bar hit the red margin, stopping barely before zero. He looked up, eyes wide as Illfang started to swing its sword. Everything slowed down for him. He was in a black matrix, with nothing but Illfang before him. His eyes followed the Nodachi, its white glow intensifying as it came down with great speed. He took a deep breath, bracing for impact.

" _This is it. A month into the game and I get killed by the first boss...can't say I didn't try though. Diabel...you lead us well...perhaps...we'll meet on the other side."_

A loud clang brought him out of his stunned state. Before him was a young black haired teen. He was wearing a long sleeved blue shirt, with matching black pants and black boots. He had black vembraces on his arms, and a steel colored chest plate. He had blocked Illfang's strike with one of his own. He howled angrily, pushing the giant creature back.

"GET HIM OUT OF HERE." he cried loudly, running forward.

He threw a few clean slashes at Illfang, who parried each one. He felt himself raise off the ground. He looked to his left, seeing Nick's worried face. To his right was Morrison, still stunned about everything that had been going on. They dragged him to the sidelines, where Aries healed him with a spare potion. He never tore his eyes from the black haired swordsman, who clashed and parried each of Illfang's hits. His entire body was shaking with adrenaline.

"Stupido, idiota. You could have died." Aries said, finally getting him to tear his eyes from the battle. Her saw her tears, running down her cheeks. Her hair was disheveled, and her armor had a few dents and nicks in it, but other than that, she was no worse for wear. Her HP bar was slightly above the yellow, and slowly filling in.

"Sorry." he muttered.

"Sorry? Sorry? You almost died, sorry won't cut it. This isn't Call of Duty, you die, that's it." Nick said firmly.

"I know that, but Diabel...I couldn't just let him die in vain." he shouted.

Two simultaneous screams were heard, bringing his eyes back into the battle. His savior had slammed into his partner, a girl around their age, with long auburn colored hair. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt, with a matching red skirt. She had a small piece of light armor strapped across her chest with thick black leather belts. She wore a brown belt, which held her Rapier's scabbard. She had long white leggings and maroon colored boots, which had thin black belts with silver buckles. Their HP was at half. Akira stood up, grabbing his sword from the ground.

"Akira." Sapphira shouted.

He let out a shout as he activated Sonic Leap. He clashed with Illfang, who's Nodachi bounced back, sparks rained from the hit, hitting the ground and fizzing out of existence. Akira remained frozen for a few seconds before he dashed forward, spinning on his heel.

"Die you Son of a BITCH."

Illfang howled in pain, now sporting a deep pixelated gash across its abdomen, courtesy of Akira's Horizontal. Its HP was almost gone...realizing this, Illfang started to swing his Nodachi, its skills most likely in a state of cool down. Akira dashed back, dodging the slash all together.

"Hey, take it out, my skills are in cool down." he cried out. The black haired teenager shared a look with his partner, both nodding. They quickly stood up and raced past Akira.

"Take this."

They unleashed a joint attack, each using a slashing sword skill to hit Illfang. The black haired teen raced forward, using an upward Slant to slice Illfang in half. The creature flew into the air and froze for a few seconds before it swelled and fragmented into billions of tiny pixels. The large congratulations banner appeared before them and everyone leveled up. Akira sighed in relief, seeing the menu pop up before him. He'd earned a decent amount of Experience, enough to boost him to level 8. Another tab opened up, alerting him that he'd learned Battle Healing. He hit accept, spending the one point to unlock it. His HP started slowly filling up.

"That was a close one. Almost bit the dust back there." he muttered to himself.

"Congratulations man, you beat the boss."

A tall burly man stood before the teen that had ended Illfang's existence. He was around six foot three, maybe a little taller, and was wearing a black sleeveless undershirt, with simple chest plates for armor. He wore long black pants, the area around his thighs however were a nice white color. He wore brown leather boots, with a white furry cuff and a slight heel.

He had a great axe in his hands. It was double edged, the blunt sides being black in color, the handle was long, around five or six feet long, and was made of a thick resistant wood. The black haired teen nodded, a tired look on his face. Everyone started cheering him on, clapping started to fill the room, some where even whistling.

"Stop cheering." someone cried out, making everyone stop their celebrations. They all looked behind them to a party of six, one young man was sitting on the floor, cross legged. He was glaring at the black haired teen, tears threatening to slip from his eyes.

"Why'd you do it? Why'd you let Diabel die?" he shouted.

"Let him die?" he asked quietly. The teen looked up, tears now spilling down his cheeks.

"That's what I said. Admit it, you knew the techniques the boss was gonna use. You could have told us. Then Diabel would have stood a chance...you...and the green haired girl." he said, looking at Sapphira. She swallowed hard, sweat tricking down her face.

"He could have stood a chance...he didn't have to die." he said angrily. Everyone started muttering things, looking back and forth between the sitting man, Sapphira and the black haired teen. Akira grit his teeth, breathing a little heavier, praying that no one would say anything. Sadly, it didn't take long for someone to connect the dots.

"I know why they knew...they used to be Beta Testers. Think about it, they knew the boss's attack patterns, they knew but they kept it from us. And, I bet their not the only ones...there might be more Beta Testers here. Come on, show yourselves." the spear user shouted. Everyone started muttering things, and looking around, a few glares were aimed at Sapphira One from Morrison, who was gritting his teeth.

"Is this true Mademoiselle Sapphira? Were you In ze beta?" he asked.

"Look, guys...this could have happened to anyone. I mean come on, do you really think the creators of this game would have kept everything the same as the beta? Especially if they were gonna plan something like this?" Akira asked, It seemed to get the point across.

"Don't cover up for them. I bet you're a Beta Tester too, you're just covering up for them aren't you?" someone called out.

Things weren't looking well. Morrison, for whatever reason was starting to draw his Rapier. Sapphira looked at him firmly, not backing down. The other teen looked to be thinking something over. If Akira didn't do something soon, his savior and his friend would be lynched. He knew of the other testers, 300 had died in the first month, most driven to death from the comments the other players were throwing at them.

He gripped his sword tightly, ready to protect Sapphira should he need it...that however was stopped when a loud laughter filled his ears. It echoed off the walls, forcing everyone to look at the black haired teen, the one who defeated Illfang. He stood up, a smirk on his face.

"So, you guys think I used to be a beta tester? It's not cool to put me in the same class as those newbs." he said, turning around.

"What...what did you say?"

"You heard me. Most of the thousand players who scored a slot in SAO's beta were total rookies. With the exception of a few." he said, glancing at Sapphira as he walked. The other man, who was now standing, looked at him in complete and utter shock. His hands were clenched, desperate to understand what was going on.

"Those guys were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, you guys are better than them...but me, I'm nothing like those guys." he said, coming to a stop before the man. Even though he was shorter, he still had a menacing look on his face.

"During the beta, I made it to floors higher than all the other testers. That's a fact..I knew about the boss, because I fought tons of monsters with loads more skills on floors higher than this one. I know other things too, more than anyone, more than any information broker." he said, a dark look on his face.

"What...what the hell? If that's true...then your worse than a beta tester, your a goddamn cheater." he said.

"Yeah."

"What a scumbag, keeping this shit from us."

"He's a Beta Tester and a Cheater, he's a Beater."

The young man didn't even flinch, he actually took it all in stride. He seemed to smile a little, at this new development.

"A beater? Yeah that's good...call me a Beater...just don't confuse me with those Beta Testers anymore." he said, opening his menu. With a few strokes, he put on a long black trench coat. He turned around and walked off, heading toward the stairs that lead to the next floor. His partner watched him go for a few seconds before chasing after him.

"So, you are one aren't you? You...you let Ma Soeur...my sister die." Morrison muttered. Sapphira started to shake, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. He was about to draw his sword again when Akira stood before him.

"Let it go Morrison. Everyone lost someone in this game, in this world. It's not the time for this shit." he said. He pulled up his menu and scrolled to the party options, with a single stroke, he dissolved the party.

"Now go, go back to Tolbana or head up to the Second Floor. I don't care what you do, but remember, if something happens to Sapphira, you'll answer to me." he said firmly. He lead Sapphira away from the crowd, stopping just past the part where Illfang was just defeated.

"That goes for the rest of you. You know it now, you know what she is, if anyone harasses her, or worse, I will personally find the ones responsible and send you to the other side myself. I don't know any of you, so it won't be any skin of my nose if you all die. Remember that if you we ever cross paths again." he said.

"Idiot, don't say that shit. I'll take care of myself." Sapphira said, pulling her arm out of his grasp.

"And I trust you will, no one has the balls to attack you. Go back to the Town of Beginnings. I have some unfinished business with that guy." he replied. He gave her a wave and started heading toward the stairs. As he walked up them, he passed the girl that had helped his savior finish the battle. She took his hand, forcing him to stop.

"Hey, nice job in that battle. You saved my life." She said.

"And he saved mine. If I had died, I wouldn't have saved you...do you know where he was heading?" he asked. She gave him a curt nod.

"He said something about activating the Teleport Gate. That would allow everyone on the first floor to visit the second." she said.

"Thank you...um..."

"Asuna." she said.

"It's nice to meet you Asuna...maybe we can party up some time, clear a few quests, level up or hangout." he said.

"Sure, I'll send you a friend request." she said. He clapped her shoulder and continued past her, passing through the black doors that lead out of the labyrinth.

It took a few minutes to actually make it through the long tunnel, but when he saw the light of day, he broke into a sprint, breaching the last part of the dark area.

The land was vast, almost if not more vast than the first floor. Large mountains stood in the background, their summits covered in pure white snow that reflected the sun a bit. A few fields could be seen around the exit to the labyrinth, as well as a few tall trees. A long winding path cut across the land, leading to a very distant town. The local mob was also walking around, a few brown Ox monsters grazed on the short grass. Their large pointed horns were white, and tipped with a sickly red, their beady eyes focused solely on the grass they were eating. Three tails swung around, most likely keeping the virtual flies from landing on its flanks. He walked further into the new land, only to be stopped by a loud clang.

He looked to the side, seeing the Black Swordsman fighting against one of the Oxen. The creature pawed the ground, its hoof scraping the grass. He dodged to the side, letting it run past him. He activated a sword skill and slashed its side, leaving a green trail of light behind. Its HP bar hit half. The creature turned around, aiming for another charge. Akira decided to help out just this once. He drew his sword and raced toward the Ox, sword glowing brightly. With a shout, he drove it through its flank. The creature whimpered a bit before it burst, the pixels flew all around the two swordsman reflecting the sunlight. The teen looked at him curiously as he sheathed his sword.

"I had that." he said.

"Sure you did. You sure it's a wise idea to go after the local mob literally after defeated a boss?" he asked.

"I can handle myself. Did you come up here to explore or to call me a beater?" he asked firmly. Akira shook his head.

"I came here to thank you. I was sure I was a goner...I saw it, Illfang's Nodachi, glowing brightly getting ready to slice me in half and send me to the other side. I could sense its rage, its unbridled wrath, all channeled into that sword, the sword that was gonna end my life. But you saved me, and I can't thank you enough for that." he said. The young man smiled a bit, sheathing his sword.

"You're welcome. My name is Kirito...you did a nice job back there, handling the boss. I should thank you too, for blocking that hit for me. If you hadn't, Asuna and I would have died too. I guess that makes us even."

"If you say so man. Listen man, that whole beater thing, are you truly comfortable with that? That's on your shoulders now."

"I fine with it, you and I both know they would have gunned for not only me, but Sapphira too. Like I said before, the Beta Testers were total rookies. Only me, Sapphira and our friend Argo made it the farthest in the Beta. They made it to Floor Eight, and I made it to Floor Ten."

"Jesus...hardcore gamer much?" he joked. Kirito chuckled.

"You don't know man, the SAO beta was all I thought about the entire time I was reviewing it. You can see it right? The beauty of it all, even in this situation, you know you don't want to be anywhere else but here."

"I admit it. If we have to clear all 100 floors of this thing, then I'm going to take my sweet ass time doing it. Once I've seen it all, I'll take my ass up those labyrinth stairs and I'll shove my foot up the final boss's ass. Then, when we clear this game, I'll do the same to Kayaba." he said firmly.

"You dream big Akira. You'll go far, if you ever have the chance to party up with anyone, don't hesitate to do it. There's only so much a solo player can do." he said.

"Sorry man, aside from Sapphira, you and maybe Asuna, I don't think anyone wants to party with me, especially after the death threat I gave everyone. Don't know about you, but I think I'll be solo for a while." he replied.

"Alright, hey...I kind of wanted to fight some of these monsters, would you do me a solid and activate the gate in in Urubus for me? All you have to do is tap the crystal on the side to activate it." he said.

"Sure Kirito. Have fun, I think I'll just enjoy the rest of this lovely day." he said, heading up the path. He didn't know it, but Kirito would become one of his closest friends in his time here. The threshold had been breached, and someone paid the price.

"The reason Diabel went to attack Illfang, I take it that it had to do with the Last Attack Bonus huh?" he asked, halfway up the path, Kirito gave him a nod.

"Idiot, black didn't suit him."

xxx

"So you almost died?" Rain asked, earning a nod from Akira.

"Yeah, you see as I go further in this little tale you'll realize just how much of a dumb shit I can truly be." he said.

"I can see that. Of course what you did was noble, you wanted to avenge Diabel by killing Illfang. So you aren't that big of a dumb shit." she said, giving him a smile.

"If you say so." he replied with a shrug. It didn't take them long to reach the park. Akira looked around, remembering all the times he had been to it during the first month.

It was a rather big park, but it was mostly used by the NPC children. The swing set was completely abandoned, allowing them to quickly claim them.

"You know, it's been forever since I've been to a park." he said.

"Well, you just need to get out more. Maybe you need motivation." Rain said, pushing herself into a light swing.

"Are you gonna show up at my house and drag me out of my bed?" he asked.

"No, but I can definitely ask my sister for all of the SAO player information and find your address." she said.

"Jeez, you're pretty scary Rain." he said, shivering a bit. She giggled, looking at the sky.

"So, what happened next? Did you and Sapphira go on a date?" she asked.

"Tch...no...if anything I see Sapph as a sister. I could never get past her personality and annoying quirks."

"I doubt she would be pleased if she heard you say that. Girls tend to hate that sort of thing." she said.

"Yeah yeah, she can't hurt me though. Well, now I'll be moving on to one of my darkest moments. Mind you, this is still pretty early on in the game." he said.

"Ooh, did you murder someone?" she asked jokingly. Akira however remained silent, just looking out into the city. Rain glanced at him, eyes widening a bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry Akira...I didn't mean it."

"Don't worry about it. I guess I better explain it then." he replied.


	4. Aincrad Arc: Murderer

**A/N: Hello guys and welcome to the next installment of The Violet Assassin. As with the previous chapters, this is just an edited version of Chapter 4 of the Secret Elite, with some extra added content and a lot of editing done. So I hope you guys like it, I think it's a farcry from the first one, though the events are still the same.**

 **I still haven't decided if I'll continue onto clear Floor 100. I do like the idea of extending the story by doing all 100 Floors, plus it would be interesting to see how Akira would handle it. But since he's just telling the story, I think I'll just cut it short at Floor 75. If you think I should continue, then let me know and I'll see what I can do.**

 **Also, let me know how the Alfheim parts of the story are. They play a major role in developing Rain and Akira's relationship. I'm also trying to incorperate the side characters and some original quests that revolve around Norse Mythology. There's also going to be some parts where Akira explores Gun Gale Online, so look forward to that.**

 **Without further stalling, I give to you the new chapter...hope you like it!**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 4

Murderer

 _(December 7_ _th_ _2022 11:AM Urubus..2_ _nd_ _Floor Plaza)_

Two days had passed since the Boss Battle on the first floor. After the news spread that the Proto-Assault team had defeated it, everyone in the Town of Beginnings was ecstatic. Everyone was happy to hear that, and most of them immediately teleported to Urubus to start leveling up for the next raid. A few more people had died during that time, around a hundred or so. It was sad, but everyone in the Town of Beginnings was keeping an eye on the Monument of Life, and counting the number of the fallen.

Akira didn't want to be down there...he was scared to see Sapphira's name with two slash marks through it, like most of the names he had seen up there. He hadn't seen or heard from her in two days. He had to constantly check his friends list, just to see if her name was still there. He had only leveled up quite a bit in the time he had been in Urubus. He looked up at the sky, the rocky town was surrounded by nothing but dirt and low mounds of more dirt. The whole town was built in what looked like a mountainous region, so there was barely any grassy fields, and the ones that were around were filled with Ox type monsters, Dire wolves and Frenzy Boars. He hadn't really gone past the first dungeon, so he didn't know much about the floor itself.

So he sat there, in the main square of the mountainous town, just watching the NPCs go about their day. Even though they were nothing more than 1s and 0s, he was impressed with how they acted. Perhaps, living in Sword Art Online for a while wouldn't be so bad.

"There you are...I've been looking everywhere for you."

That is, if you could avoid annoyances that hadn't left you alone since coming up there. Akira looked up, seeing the familiar face of Nick. He was wearing different armor now, instead of black greaves, he wore brown ones, and his armor plates had changed to dark black. Akira sighed.

"What do you want now?" he asked.

"Dude, you can't just sit around and do nothing. What happened to all of that gusto you had back in the labyrinth? You can't tell me it disappeared in just two days."

"My friend is gone. She's out there doing who knows what, and it's all thanks to that mother fucker with the cactus hair. She's scared of coming into town because of the hate toward Beta Testers." he said angrily.

"So, Sapphira really is a Beta Tester huh? That's a shame...being treated like that for knowledge that isn't even consistent." he muttered.

"Did you want to tell me something or are you here to annoy me?" the black haired teen asked.

"I'm getting to that. I wanted to ask if you wanted to party up for a quest...there's one that has you killing a certain number of Ox monsters. There's a high chance of them dropping a good amount of meat."

"We need a high level cooking skill to cook it though."

"I'm working on it damn it. I have a friend who leveled hers up to 100, that's enough for low level meat like this. Also, there's an area that hasn't been explored, there could be money chests or weapon chests there, and you are in need of a new dagger."

"I'm fine with my sword. I can always buy a dagger." he said with a shrug. Nick sighed, pulling out the guide book.

"Well, there's another quest here, to take down a Mid Level Boss...I just made it to level ten, so we can maybe take it down."

"Pass...I don't want to see someone die." he said firmly. Nick got fed up, slamming the book close.

"Well you know what, why don't you just stay here in Urubus until this fucking game is cleared? You won't get to do anything unless you get your ass moving. You said your friend was a Beta Tester right? Then she'll be fine." he said.

"Go ahead and scream it to the world why don't ya? Tell everyone about it..because that went well the last time. Morrison singled her out to everyone back in the Town of Beginnings, she sent me a message saying that everyone kept shouting at her. I haven't seen Aries at all, poor girl must be scared, lost and confused about all of this shit...just leave me alone." he said, walking off. Nick sighed, looking at the ground.

"Well that failed."

Akira was pissed...how can someone just want to party up, without giving a remote fuck about what had happened. Shit like that was what got people killed. He wasn't going to party up with anyone. He stopped walking, thinking about the quests..he didn't need money...but maybe he could map out that Forest area everyone refused to do. That'd work. He opened his menu and set a waypoint to the Forever Fall forest, which was still completely blank..he'd have to cut across Rhinestone Canyon to get there, and that's where the Mid Level Boss was located.

His sword had been upgraded to +1 and he had reached level fifteen by just killing Oxen in between the First Floor Labyrinth exit and Urubus and while it had been extremely hard, he knew it paid off. A lot of people would never even consider power leveling for an entire day straight like he had, he was just lucky to even be conscious.

As he walked though, he got a message. The glowing button appeared before him, and he clicked it, seeing that it was from Sapphira. He quickly opened it and read it.

" _Hey...sorry that I've been staying out of town. I took this quest to get a special skill and got stuck doing it. I needed to level up a bit to finish it, I'm level 14 now...I bet your like level 17 with all of the Ox Monsters that are around...hehe...anyway...I can't really specify the details of the quest, just that it gets you a good skill...I want you to find Argo and talk to her about it, she's a better information broker than that Yamada guy on the First Floor, trust me, she's a Tester like me. Anyway, I won't be back in town until tomorrow. I found a cave and am going to tackle it alone. Don't worry, I got potions and shit...best of luck, see ya soon."_

He sighed, closing the message. At least she was fine and working on her leveling. He felt happy to hear that she was enjoying herself...though this new skill caught his attention. He wondered what kind of skill it was. He opened up his player search list and typed Argo's name in it. He wasn't able to pull up a profile or much data, since they weren't friends yet. He finally found her and sent her a short message, asking her to meet up with him near the Urubus town exit. Satisfied, he headed toward his meeting spot.

After a few minutes of walking, he got to the specific area he was supposed to meet this Argo person at and leaned back against a building, closing his eyes for a bit to think. He wondered how everything in the real world was. Kayaba had disabled the Television sets in the game, so they couldn't watch any current real world news. They were kind of useless when he thought about it. His head lifted up when he heard a sound, he looked to his right, seeing nothing, but when he looked left, he saw someone leaning against the wall beside him.

"I was expecting some big gruff fella looking for some hardy information, not a skinny American player who's seen better days."

"And I was expecting a tall bodacious woman, but it seems we don't have what we want happen to us." he said. The girl smirked and looked at him.

"You've got gull, I like you. Names Argo, you can call me the Rat." she said. She was an auburn haired girl, with golden eyes. She had pale colored skin, with red whisker marks on her face. She was wearing a brown cloak over her armor, but he could tell it was better than his own. She was wearing a tan skirt, with matching greaves. She had claws strapped to her waist.

"Akira, nice to meet you Miss _The Rat_...I hear you got information. My friend Sapphira told me to talk to you."

"Ah yes...Sapph and I were the ones who cleared the Fifth floor in the closed beta...a real cutie she is, we're actually friends IRL. I'm glad she sent you my way, it seems like you can use all the information you could get. I got map data, monster data, player data, except Beta Tester information, that's my only rule. What do you want?"

"I'm in need of some information, information on a new skill that you can earn only on this floor." he said. She smirked.

"It's a good thing I just completed the information on this quest, it seems Sapph was too giddy to wait and share it. There is indeed a skill like that, it's a Martial Arts skill. I'd usually ask up front for payment, but since Sapphira sent you to me, I'll give you this one free of charge." she said, opening her menu. She sent him the Quest details, and he read it over.

"Martial Arts Vs Sword Arts." he muttered to himself. He read the quest over, reading on everything he'd need to get the skill. The only thing he needed to do was break a rock. Unlocking the skill would add it to your skill list for you to master it, along with 20,000 Col, and 4,032 Experience Points. That was quite the benefit.

"This skill quest is a little...I dunno...advanced I guess...why would it give out so much money and experience as a reward?" he asked.

"The thing is, this quest is special. That rock can't be broken by just anyone...it takes a while for you to actually be able to break it. Whether you do or don't, that's up to how patient you are..oh and if you don't complete it, you get whisker marks like mine. I finished mine, but I got used to having them on my face in the beta, so I paint them on." she said.

"Alright, I guess I'll go for this quest, but I'm not going to take this for free...you worked to hard on it...I'm planning on mapping out the Forever Fall Forest, I can trade you that map data for the quest." he said. Her eyes widened a bit.

"You're taking on the Forever Fall forest alone? Are you serious?" she asked.

"What? Doubt me because I'm not a Beta Tester? I'm Level 15 Argo, I can handle myself..but if your so concerned about me, I guess you can tag along." he said.

"You talk to much for your own good. I'm cutting you a deal because Sapphira is my friend...you don't have to pay me back." she said. He shrugged and opened up his menu, sending her a party request.

"What's the worst that can happen? I know you can take care of yourself, and so can I, besides, we can split any weapons and money down the middle. We both gain something."

"That sounds tempting...alright I accept this deal." she said, accepting his request. Her HP bar appeared underneath his own. She opened her menu for a brief second, and he peeked at it, whistling a bit at her stats.

"Whoa ho ho, level 21. Have you been grinding non-stop since we came to Urubus?" he asked.

"Hey, no peeking. Sharing Player information or peeking at someones menu is synonymous with death."

"I don't kill people..every life is precious. Come on, we can make it to the Forest in under an hour." he said, walking past her. She closed her menu and quickly followed him. Sadly, she wasn't the only one who followed.

The Forest Path was the name of the field that lead from Urubus to The Forever Fall Forest. Supposedly, the forest was in fall year round. He was honestly looking forward to it. Maybe he'd see snow in this game? He'd really enjoy that.

"So, you don't talk much do you?" Argo asked.

"I talk when I need too...I mean I have no one to talk to since I'm a Solo Player."

"Why don't you party up with anyone? It's not so bad you know."

"It's simple really. I guess I don't want anyone to harm Sapph. She's a Beta Tester, and I feel that the discrimination toward them is particularly bad. I don't want to party with anyone because if they find out I'm friends with a Beta tester, then they'd either hound me for information or turn me away for being a Beater." he said.

"You consider yourself a beater?" She asked curiously.

"I power level through dungeons, and take all of the good items for myself, selling the old stuff for money. So yeah, I'm cheating the game but I'm not a Beta Tester. You could say, I'm the Cheater and Sapphira is the Beta Tester, making us a Beater by association." he replied.

"I don't follow your logic. I'm sure other players power grind the shit out of their avatars in other games." she said.

"But SAO isn't just another game. It's our lives now...and just like the real world, your life hinges on your actions. However, your actions here won't matter when your life is on the brink of an HP bar. While you live a full life out there in relative peace unless you start doing some shady stuff, in here, you can die at any given moment. But even with the chance of death, I still enjoy myself here." he said.

"You're a weird one...but I guess I sort of understand what you mean. Sword Art Online is the life of the Beta Testers, it was for three months while we tested it. It sort of makes me happy to hear that...everyone sees this as the most horrific thing they could have been a part of..but you...you see it as another chance at life...you like being here...why is that?" she asked.

"I can't walk in the real world. Being in here, I can walk, jog, run..be free. I could walk before...but since my accident, I lost everything...my schooling, my friends, my love life...I fell in a deep depression...my doctor told me I could stand a chance to walk again, but when SAO launched, I got stuck in this game. So I gave up on the chance to walk again in the real world, and I started walking in here." he said.

They ran into several Ox monsters, all grazing on the grass. A few Frenzy Boars and Honey Bees were in the area as well. He figured it'd be the perfect time to level himself up a bit. He drew his sword and ran straight at a nearby Ox.

"Slant." he shouted, activating the sword skill. He slashed the creature's back, causing it to squeal in surprise. It turned around, facing its attacker. Akira dashed to the side, pulling his sword back.

"Vorpal Strike." he cried out, thrusting the tip of his sword into the brown colored monster. It swelled up and shattered into pixels. He got 27 EXP for it, as well as some Prime Ox meat. He smiled and closed the menu.

"You seem to have gotten used to your sword skills. You're a very brave man Akira. Truly you are...facing this world head on, and enjoying it as you walk free. Not many have the gull to do what you do...go ahead and take care of the monsters here. You'll be able to level up once before we reach the forest. We'll need it, considering the mid level boss is located in the center of it." she said. He nodded and dashed toward a Frenzy Boar.

After half an hour, the field was cleared out of monsters. Akira and Argo moved on, walking up the silent path. The dirt path started turning into dry dust and leaves, and the Forever Fall Forest was finally coming into view. Akira's eyes widened a bit, seeing all of the oak trees..each having leaves that were a beautiful brown color...reds and yellows were also mixed in, giving it a nice autumn look. Argo stopped walking and looked back, eyes narrowed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're being followed." she replied, reaching for her Claws. It took a few seconds to put them on. Akira couldn't see anything behind them at all, but drew his sword anyway.

"How can you tell?" he asked.

"If you level up your Dagger skills, you'll get special bonus skills centered around Hiding. The Listening skill is one of those as well...I've been leveling those skills up to get the information necessary for my guide. I haven't maxed it out, but at level 200, you can hear people behind you." she muttered.

"Is this free information? Or do I owe you?" he asked.

"Scare away the bastard tagging us and I'll give you a 40% discount."

He nodded and dashed forward. He really missed having a dagger as his main weapon. He made a rookie mistake, and one of the monsters ended up breaking it on him while he was out leveling up. He'd been using his sword a lot since then, as it was the only weapon he had left. He found out, having a long sword lessened your speed unless you had the right equipment or the sword itself raised Agility. He saw the person that was doing nothing to stay hidden and dashed forward. He angled his blade, stopping it right at their neck.

"Holy shit, don't kill me."

Akira grit his teeth and jumped back, holding his sword straight at the person. He was breathing heavily, adrenaline still pumping through his veins. Hell, if he'd use a Sword skill, he didn't know if he could have stopped it in time, he was glad now that he had gone for a regular slash attack. He looked up at the teen, anger clear in his face.

"Asshole, why'd you follow us?" he asked.

"Because man...I was just curious." he said. Akira sighed and sheathed his sword.

"Mistakes like that will get you killed Nick. You're not strong enough for this shit, go back to Urubus." He said firmly. The brown haired teen shook his head.

"I'm going with you to the Forever Fall forest, you can't stop me man. Come on, it's been two days, and yes Morrison was a dick but, he's freaking sister died." he said. Akira heaved a sigh, looking away from him, almost in disgust.

"Fine, but if you die, that's all on you." he said firmly. Akira turned around, and headed back to where Argo was still waiting. He sighed.

"This is a player from the first floor boss raid. He's been following me ever since I dissolved my party." he said. Argo nodded.

"Well, lets just take care of this area alright? It'll be much quicker if we split up and start mapping it all. Also, watch out for Nato the Colonel Taurus. He's the Mid Level Boss of this floor. Its parameters most likely changed from the closed beta to the main game. We need to defeat him in order to get the Boss Information." She said. Both boys nodded and drew their swords.

Entering the forest, the group was met with a few Bee monsters. Akira used his Ex Onslaught to stun the nearby ones and took them out easily with his Horizontal AoE skill, which affected the ones near it. The Honey Bee recovered and aimed a tackled at him. Nick dashed in front of him and parried the attack, unleashing his own skill. The monster swelled and exploded into pixels. He gave Akira a nod and moved on to take the next one. Argo was meanwhile taking care of a few Frenzy Boars that were in the area. After it was cleared, they moved up the path. Akira saw a branching path and stopped in front of it.

"What do you think is over here?" he asked.

"Last time I was here, this path lead to a Money chest, don't know if its the same. Might as well check it out." She said. He nodded and started going down the path.

The sound of crunching leaves alerted a few of the Dragonfly creatures to them, Akira quickly parried the tackle, and pushed the creature back.

"What the hell? A large ass Dragonfly monster in a forest?" Nick cried. Argo quickly sliced it in half with her claws.

"It's SAO...are you scared of Dragonflies?" Akira asked, slicing another one in half. Pixels were flying everywhere at this point.

"I'm not scared of anything bro." he said. He activated a skill, taking out the nearby monsters. He smirked.

"Ha, level up."

"Lets keep moving. Dragonflies aren't the only thing we'll be dealing with in this forest." Argo said, pushing on past them.

The three of them were able to map the west half of the forest in under two hours. Akira found 40,000 col in one chest, as well as a Wind Flurete Rapier, which he sold to Argo for a decent amount of money. After mapping out the east half of the forest, the ran across the entrance to the labyrinth and decided to turn around.

"Well, it wasn't so bad for today. Those stupid Beetles pissed me off though." Nick said, rubbing his neck.

"Dude, at least you got battle healing now. You shouldn't worry about anything for a while. Though you should use that money for potions and shit. I'm still at a lower level than Argo though." he said sadly.

"Why? What level is she?" he asked. He smirked, looking at the hooded girl who was busy writing the next version of her guide book.

"If you want information like that, then you'll have to fork up the dough." he said. Nick huffed and crossed his arms, looking away from his friend.

 _(December 13_ _th_ _2022 4:35 PM AST. Location: Urubus Teleport Gate."_

Akira stood in the center of town, with the rest of the clearing party. It seemed that the day before, the boss room was located. The Mid Level Boss, Bullbous Bow had been defeated a few days back, and the scouting party had located the Boss Room on the 23rd floor of the labyrinth. He had been to the village closest to its entrance to finish up some quick leveling, but had avoided the labyrinth all together, especially since Sapphira suggested he acquire the Martial Arts skill first.

He and Nick had also done several quests together, one of which was to get an Anneal Dagger, which was the strongest Dagger on the Second Floor. It seemed he was learning to tolerate Nick now, and didn't mind having him in his party when Sapphira was out and about. It turned out that she was actually gathering information on a secret cave dungeon that had been filled with several different traps. She disarmed some of them and took some treasure, leaving the rest for those brave enough to venture inside.

"Alright, we're gathered here, because late last night, the boss room was located by the scouting party. We're planning on heading out in the morning to take care of it." Asuna said. A few of the guys next to him were being rowdy, but he ignored them in favor getting the information.

"The Boss's name is Asterius the Taurus king, and he has Six HP bars. The problem for this boss isn't the boss itself, it's the minions he sends out. Baran the General Taurus, has Five HP bars, as well as a special skill that will inflict a stun status on those who get hit. If you get hit by it again, you'll get paralyzed and be subject to attack until it wears off or a crystal is used." she continued.

"We have decided to let Lind lead our raid party. He will be giving out orders to everyone and guiding us the best he can, so please listen to what he says to the letter." Kirito said..even though he was frowned upon because of being a Beater, he was still a good player. He heard from Argo that he was steadily increasing his levels. But that's where he and Akira stopped being the same, while Kirito had barely reached level 14, Akira himself was level 18. It pays off when you power level for three days straight.

"Are you sure this information isn't gonna get us killed?" someone cried out. Akira chuckled, getting the teens attention.

"Trust her will you? That information didn't come cheap...it's consistent." he said.

"Oh, are you reassuring the information broker who's writing that guide?" he asked, now coming face to face with Akira.

"I am. I helped her map the forest, if that guide says that's the bosses name and that's it's information, than that means it's consistent."

"Are you willing to lay your life down for it?" he said.

"Guys calm down will ya. Were here to fight the boss, not fight ourselves." Asuna said.

"Right, sorry Asuna. It won't happen again." Akira said, earning a chuckle from the other player.

"Kiss ass."

"Alright, I'm not letting that one slide. Whats wrong with you eh?"

"Nothing man, I just can't trust beta testers. Is that so bad? Besides, rumor has it your friends with a Beta Tester too."

Akira looked the teen over, he couldn't be that much older than he was. He had black hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing armor similar to him, except his shirt was red instead of purple. He had a mace strapped to his side. He had wide shoulders, and beefy looking arms, he looked a little chubby, definitely not one who'd fit in the VRMMO scene, but Akira learned that body weight in this game didn't matter, and what did matter was a person's AGI stat. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at him.

"So what if I am friends with a Beta Tester? I'm friends with three of them, but I ain't telling you who they are. Whats wrong? Scared that a total newb is cheating the game because he has beta testers as friends?" he asked.

"You little shit. You think you're so cool and yet you look weaker than I am."

"My sweet ass coat begs to differ." he said with a smirk.

During a special tailoring quest, Akira had gotten himself a Violet Cotton Coat, which raised all of his stats by 10%. It had a vibrant violet color, and chrome colored shoulder pads..it also had studs around the sleeves and cuffs. The coat itself reached down to below his knees. The coat also boosted his Detection and Tracking Skills for some reason or another. The other teen grit his teeth, grabbing his mace.

"He's got you there man." someone cried out.

"Alright, why don't you lay it out on the line. I challenge you to a duel, right here, right now." he said.

"Are you stupid? Don't you know that you can die in a duel?" Akira asked, arms crossed in disdain.

"Not if you do a duel to the Yellow...what are you scared?" another teen said, most likely from the first's party.

"No screw that, I want a duel to the death. I hate this kid, I hate his attitude and I hate his goddamn face. I want the pleasure of wiping him out of SAO. Besides, there's no proof that if you die here, you die in real life. I bet he'll thank me once this is over." he said.

"I'm not accepting a death match dumb ass. I'm here for the same thing you are, to clear the game." Akira said firmly, the other teens body language sent him a clear message, he wasn't going to back down without a fight.

"I don't give a shit. Either you accept the quest, or we'll follow you and kill you when you leave town." he said.

"That's enough. Player Killing isn't allowed in the game...it's a forbidden act, were trying to save lives. We're not here to kill people." Kirito called out, from his spot next to Asuna.

"Fine, I'll accept your quest...but trust me you'll be sorry." Akira said. The teen smirked and opened up the prompt. After a second, the menu appeared before Akira, who hit accept.

"Akira, are you insane?" Sapphira cried out, pushing past the crowd to her friend.

"I'm not gonna really kill him. I'll rough him up a bit and then I'll forfeit." he muttered quietly to her.

Everyone around them had cleared a large enough space for the two players to start their duel. Akira looked above him, seeing his own name, as well as his opponents name. The other teen was called Ralph...probably an American player, what with all the players who joined up after the official service began. The timer hit zero and the duel began, with Ralph and at Akira, uttering a battle shout. Akira dodged the attack and tripped him, sending him to the ground. Ralph stood up, gritting his thing in anger. He swung his mace at Akira, who dodged the attack.

"Stop dodging pussy...Fight like a man." Ralph shouted. Akira reached behind his back and drew his sword.

"No way..that blade." Sapphira muttered.

"You've seen it?" Asuna asked. The green haired girl nodded.

"It's a blade that's supposedly the boss drop for taking out the mid level boss. It's called the Nightfall Blade." Sapphira said. She looked closely at the blade in Akira's hand. It was a long sword, with a midnight hue to it. The it had a cross guard, with a half moon it. The tip of the blade was angled and looked extremely sharp. Even Argo was impressed.

"When exactly did he fight the mid level boss? There's three of them on this floor, and we never did find Nato." she asked.

"Well, I did see him power leveling a few times while completing a quest." Kirito said, focusing on the blade itself. He was rather impressed someone had bested him in getting a good weapon.

"I hear it's a weapon that only appears to players from certain regions. Depending on where he's diving from, he could have activated a special drop. Having a rare sword like that this early on, that's insane." Argo muttered, almost salivating at the sight of the sword.

"How the system would recognize he's not from Japan is another question in itself." Asuna muttered. Perhaps there was hope that they'd get farther in the game after all.

"So, you finally drew your sword. That means your taking me seriously?" Ralph asked.

"Bro, I don't even want to fight you. Don't you understand what could happen if your HP hits zero? There isn't a way to save your ass."

"I don't care. I wanna fight you to the death, and I will kill you." he said. He ran forward, activating a Sword Skill. Akira activated a parry, blocking the attack and stunning him. He slashed the teen across the chest, paralyzing him.

"What the...I can't move." he said.

"It's a bonus effect from my sword. All regular slashes have ten percent chance of paralyzing the target if their stunned. It's a luck based status buff, but I have a ring equipped that raises my luck by forty." he said with a shrug.

"Come on Ralph, the kid is toying with you. Show him what your made of." one of his friends cried out. Ralph finally broke out of the paralysis and ran straight at Akira, aiming another Sword Skill at him.

"Power Strike." he cried out, Akira dodged it and dashed past the teen. He cried in pain, and his HP bar hit the red. Akira's sword ceased its green glow, returning to it's midnight black hue.

"What the hell...your weaker than me...why does your sword skill do more damage?" Ralph shouted, falling to his knees. Akira sighed and shook his head.

"I got better gear than you. I spent three days level grinding to get my level up. I'm not finishing this off...I forfeit." he said, opening his menu. He opened the forfeit duel menu and started scrolling to the bottom.

"I...am not...losing this." Ralph said, using a health potion.

His HP hit the yellow and he stood up, running at Akira. The teen quickly closed his menu and swung his sword, aiming to parry. He accidentally activated Horizontal Slash, and he sliced Ralph's avatar in half. His HP bar hit zero and beeped three times, signaling he was out of HP. He started glowing brightly, a smile on his face.

"I'm finally free." he said, before shattering into pixels. The Winner Icon appeared over Akira's head...ending the duel. Everyone looked at him stunned..even he was at a loss for words. Akira just stood there, eyes widened in shock and horror. His sword slipped from his hand, clanging onto the ground.

"No...way...he just.."

"He killed him...the fucker killed another person."

"Hey, now wait just a second...he didn't mean to kill Ralph...I saw it from here, he was trying to forfeit." Sapphira called out.

"He still killed him. How can we have a murderer on the clearing team? He can kill us the same way."

Akira looked at the player that said that, the glare he got gave him chills.

"I'm not a killer. I was trying to forfeit, and he thought it was a great idea to attack me. That Sword Skill was activated on accident, I got into the wrong stance. But something tells me you won't listen to whatever I gotta say." he said firmly.

"Just get out of here murderer. We're here trying to clear floors, not kill people."

Everyone started shouting at him, and telling him to leave the meeting. He shook his head, chuckling a bit. He grabbed his sword from the ground and sheathed it to his back. Before he did though, he looked back, smirking at everyone who called him a murderer.

"If anything...I'm happy to have won that duel...one less person that's suffering to stay alive in this game. If killing someone in self defense is worse than being a Beater, then go ahead, call me whatever you like." he said, before walking off.

For hours he walked, he needed to be away from everything, from everyone, he just needed to be alone. He didn't even intend for it, but he had found himself back in the First Floor Labyrinth, where Illfang had been slain a few days prior. His legs buckled underneath him and he dropped to his knees, staring at the marble flooring that made up the dungeon. He looked at his hands, breathing hard.

"I just took a life...I just killed a person." he muttered to himself. He couldn't believe it, he could still see the pixels floating all around him, as Ralph's avatar shattered into nothing. 10,000 people had logged into Sword Art Online on day one, and 2,000 had died by the first month, and he was responsible for ending one of those lives. The situation had been grim before, but now he felt like total shit. He shook his head, dropping to his knees. He gripped his head tightly in his hands, tears started falling down his face.

"No...I didn't kill him, that bastard...I was trying to forfeit that match, and still he attacked me. That attack could have been a critical hit, it could have been me that died and not him. It's better this way...better him than me." he said quietly to himself.

He hated to think that way, but that was the way the game was played. He wasn't in the real world anymore, Aincrad was his real world, and he would be damned if he was going to become a victim to it. He stood up, stretching his limbs.

"I'll just avoid boss fights for awhile, concentrate on leveling up, and watch my back, certainly people will start coming after me for what they saw. My cursor didn't turn orange, and if they attack me, then they will turn orange too, and it isn't against the system to kill orange players. If that's how it has to be...then that's fine with me." he said to himself. He took a deep breath, his face devoid of emotion. If he had to disconnect from society to live in peace, he would do it. Just as long as more people didn't die by his hand.

xxx

"It wasn't your fault." Rain said, as Akira finished speaking. He looked at her, giving her a smile.

"I know, I just got into the wrong position. That's the thing about SAO, since the system assist helped out with all of your sword skills, they would activate whether you wanted them to or not. Later I figured out how to control it a bit easier, so I didn't activate them all willy nilly. That didn't stop people from chastising me." he said, gripping the chains tightly. Rain stopped swinging standing up from the swing.

"Alright then, you may have taken a life in that game, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person. I can tell you aren't...so don't tell me otherwise." she said firmly.

"I dunno about that. I was a Solo Player, all I cared about was me." he said.

"So, I did the same thing!" she cried out. He tilted his head curiously.

"You did the same thing?" he asked. Her eyes widened a bit and she turned around.

"I uh..I mean, when I started playing ALO, all I did was worry for myself. Do you know how hard it is to level things up as a Leprechaun? It isn't a walk in the park. But it was the only race I could pick since I could create my own armors. It's much easier and wastes less money. Besides I don't have to explain to people why I need two swords." she replied.

"Hmm...that is true...so does that mean you're a Blacksmith? I know a good one, but I'm curious to see what kind of stuff you can make. My friends haven't messaged me yet, you wanna head to the dungeons and grab some ore?" he asked.

"But what about your friends? Actually, my friends haven't messaged me either. It's only been half an hour since I logged in." she said firmly.

Akira stood up and opened his menu, looking through his items. He hummed to himself, seeing his strongest dagger. He had just started playing the game, and even with the information from his SAO avatar and all of his leveled up skills, he didn't have good weapons.

"How do you activate Dual Wielding?" he asked curiously.

"It depends on your race, so far Leprechauns, Spriggans, and Salamanders have been able to do it. Since you're an Imp, it might not work. Do you even have a second sword?" She asked.

"No, I only have this Anneal Blade my friend gave me last night." he said, equipping the sword onto his back. She nodded and sifted through her inventory. When she found what she was looking for, she opened the trade menu and dragged the sword into it. Akira looked on in surprise as the menu opened up in front of him.

"You can have that one, I recently made it. It has decent stats but I know I could do better." she said.

"I can't take this, I don't have any Yrd to give you."

"No worries, we're friends now. And you've been keeping me entertained with your story. You're the first one to actually invite me on a Item searching quest." she admitted.

"Okay...thanks Rain...let's see if I can actually equip it." he said, hitting the accept button. Once it was in his inventory, he hit the equip icon and to his surprise, it appeared on his back, crossing right over his Anneal Blade. He reached for it, drawing it from his scabbard.

"Wow, this is actually pretty light." he said, giving the sword a few test swings.

The blade itself was a steel color. It had a pointed tip, which was sharpened to a razor edge. It had a cross near the top of the blade. The hilt was a simple black crossguard, with a blue gem encrusted in the center. It was a pretty simple blade, but he could tell it had been made with care.

"Well, I'm surprised you were able to equip it, but now I'm not the only one who can dual wield, then again I was never the only one." Rain replied. He nodded, sheathing the sword.

"This is going to be interesting, I've been wanting to Dual Wield since Floor 74, but that's a story for another time. I guess I can tell you another part of my tale as we head to the caverns. This is the story of how I met one of my closest friends, and the very first Beast Tamer in all of Aincrad."

"Oh, should I buy some popcorn?" Rain asked.

"Nah, let's just stick to these gummies I bought in Swilvane last night!" he said, bringing out the gummy candies from his inventory.


	5. Aincrad Arc: Solo Player

**A/N: Hello People of Earth!**

 **Welcome to another chapter of The Violet Assassin. In the last chapter, we got to see some of what Akira had gone through when accidentally killed one of the other players. This is also around the time he got his moniker of the Violet Assassin. Even though he's called that, it's mostly because of his looks rather than what he does. He doesn't assassinate people, but he might take down red players later on. This chapter is about Akira and how he met Silica. Again this is just an edited version of The Secret Elite Chapter 5, there's going to be an original chapter Seven as well as some other added stuff at either the beginning or the end of each chapter.**

 **On a side note, Akira is going to be gaining levels pretty fast. He's most likely going to be on par with Kirito. Some may say he's over powered, but come on, what gamer wouldn't want to power level and take on any boss they come across? It's an MMO so power leveling makes sense. And he's part of the clearing team, and they have to be the most leveled up in Aincrad. I'll try to add some unique events and some other things taking place on Floors people don't even mention. That's one of the great things about writing a story for this, you can delve into floors the series itself doesn't talk about. That's where I can have the most fun.**

 **I suppose this is it for now...I will now return to my Zoey 101 marathon. Honestly this is one of the best series Nickelodeon made, such a shame it was canceled.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 5

Solo Player

 _(December 31_ _st_ _2022 10AM Aincrad Standard Time. Floor Dungeon 5_ _th_ _Floor.)_

The Forests of and fields of the Fifth Floor were covered in nothing but white snow. Since it was New Years Eve, the weather had been set to have a white holiday. It had been three days since the fourth floor had been cleared, and the clearing party had already located the fifth floor labyrinth, but that wasn't what Akira was interested in, after the little debacle that happened on the second floor, he'd stayed away from towns and villages and anywhere he might be recognized.

He was currently in search of a special flower that only grew in the snow. Supposedly, it would grant the user access to the recipe to make Grand Potions. Items of that rarity were going through the roof, so it was worth walking through the snow.

He was also on a quest named Snow Hound Killer. He had to kill Thirteen White Dire Wolves, of which he had currently killed 10. He sighed, letting out a large steam cloud. He wasn't used to the cold, so he shivered slightly, at least his coat kept him warm. One thing he loved about Sword Art Online, was how detailed the weather was. He looked up, seeing the little snowflakes falling from the darkened skies.

He stopped walking when he heard movement to his right. He quickly dashed to a nearby tree and hid behind it. Over the last few weeks, he'd been working on his Hiding and Listening skills. He wouldn't be spotted so easily, but they could track his footprints and find where he was. He gripped his Anneal Dagger tightly in his hand, in case he had to use it. Killing Monsters was fine, but he wouldn't dare kill a Player. He still had trouble sleeping after what happened with Ralph. It had gotten dangerous to say the least...even though he wasn't orange, he was still hunted by Ralph's old party members, who wanted nothing more than revenge. It was one of the reasons he didn't go into town unless it was necessary, thus raising his Hiding skill to not be seen.

Instead of an animal or an enemy, Akira saw that it was another player...a young girl with brown hair. She kept it tied up with two ribbons. She was wearing a yellow coat, with a feathery collar. It reached to around her waist, and had a feathery hem. She was wearing a yellow skirt, along with white stockings and black boots. He couldn't see her armor from where he stood, but he did see the dagger sheathed to her right waist. She kept looking around, most likely for monsters that may have been following her. He narrowed his eyes.

"What's a girl that young doing in the Snowcap Forest at this time of day? There was a blizzard warning sent out to everyone who came in here." he muttered to himself. She passed by him, not even sensing him or seeing his footprints. After she was a good ways away, he decided to follow her.

Not many kids played with the Nerve Gear before SAO launched. About 400,000 people world wide owned the hardware, let alone a game to play on it. This girl looked 11, maybe 12 years old. Seeing someone so young tackling Aincrad was both brave and idiotic. He had heard about a group of kids, who were being taken care of back in the Town of Beginnings. He sighed, knowing kids shouldn't be exposed to this kind of crap.

He heard a sharp scream and looked around, having lost the girl he was tracking. He grit his teeth and started running, trying not to slip in the fresh snow. He reached a clearing, seeing the girl he was following get surrounded by three White Dire Wolves. He burst forward using the snow to slide front of her, blocking a slash with his dagger.

"You okay?" he asked, looking back at her. She nodded, shivering a bit, he noticed her HP was at Half, slightly above the yellow. He looked back at the wolves, who were now circling them as if they were pray.

"Alright, stand back to back to me. We'll parry their attacks and throw some of our own when we can." he said.

"Okay." she replied, turning around.

She drew her dagger from its sheath, and held it in a forward grip. Akira himself was holding his in a side grip. His eyes kept moving back and forth, scanning their movements. The Alpha wolf finally gave a howl, telling its brethren to attack. Akira pulled his fist back, activating his Martial Arts skill. His hand glowed a solid orange as he performed a forward jab. The first wolf swelled and burst into pixels. The girl fended off the second, but it ended up slashing her. He saw her HP hit the red. He turned around, pulling out a Health Crystal.

"Heal."

The crystal burst and her HP steadily rose back into the green. The alpha wolf took its chance and lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. He bit into Akira's arm, digging its fangs into his arm. Blood started seeping into the snow.

"You little fucker...eat shit." he growled, stabbing his dagger into the creatures skull. It whimpered a bit before bursting into pixels. He lay on the ground, breathing hard and looking at the gray clouds above him. The light snowflakes fell into his eyes, making them sting a bit. He finally stood up and shook the snow off himself.

"Um...a little help please."

He looked at the girl, who looked at the last wolf in fear. He had forgotten about her for the short time he was on the ground. She was clutching her dagger tightly in her hand, but it was shaking a bit, most likely due to the cold. Akira quickly made a snowball and threw it at the wolf, drawing its aggro. The creature pawed the ground a bit and then ran straight at him. Akira flipped his dagger forward, a smirk on his face.

"Armor Pierce." he cried.

His dagger glowed a bright yellow as he thrust it forward, destroying the creature in one attack. A menu opened up, telling him all of the experience and col he earned. He also got three White Dire Wolf pelts, that could be worked on to make armor. He nodded and closed his menu, and looked back to the girl, who was panting for breath.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes...a little jittery, but I think that's just adrenaline. Thank you for saving me, I owe you my life." she said. He chuckled and sheathed his dagger.

"It was nothing...though I am curious. Why is a girl like you all alone in the Snowcap Forest? Don't you know there's a blizzard predicted to hit this area soon?" he asked.

"I know, I got the message when I entered this floor...but I heard a rumor about a special quest that's in the area." she said firmly.

"A New Years event quest?" he asked. He hadn't heard about that quest, and surely Argo would know about it.

"Oh no, it's not an event quest of any sort...it's a special event for beast tamers. I heard there was a nest of special monsters here that could be tamed..I..came here to see if I could tame one." she said, looking at the snow.

"Ah, I didn't think anyone would be interested in Beast Taming...though it's not a bad idea when you think about it. Having someone that can back you up when not in a party...maybe I should have gone for that skill." he said, lost in thought.

"Well, I'd like to thank you again for helping me...I know it isn't much but, I got this Animal pelt from killing a few monsters on the fourth floor. You can at least have them tailored into something." she said, opening her menu.

"It's fine...you don't have to pay me back or anything. I was just passing by after all." he said.

"Are you sure? It's no problem."

"I'm sure..you need that stuff more than I do. Lots of people are looking for pelts and the like to make leatherwork for armor pieces. Could come in handy later on." he said. She nodded, closing her menu.

"Um...okay I guess." she muttered. He opened his menu and clicked on the active quest icon. He smiled to himself.

"Alright, those three wolves I took down were enough to complete my quest. Now all I gotta do is find that Frost Flower and I can go back to Hosenka Village." he said, closing his menu.

"Frost Flowers? I heard someone back in town saying they were around this area. The cave I need to go to is in this direction...maybe we can party up for a while?" she asked.

"Well, I don't usually party up with anyone...but I guess I can make an exception this time." he said, sending her the party invite. She clicked accept and her HP bar was added to his HUD. He focused on her name, smiling a bit.

"It's nice to meet you Silica."

"Nice to meet you too Akira. Come on, the cave is this way."

Akira stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed the young girl. He was curious about her level, but over the time SAO had been online, it had become taboo to ask or even share player information with others. He was barely level 30, and that was just from taking any quest that was available, no matter how stupid it sounded. The Frost Flower and White Dire Wolf quest seemed like the most reasonable ones at the time, that and most of the players were in Rurio, the Fifth Floor's mayor city. In fact, the only ones out and about were the clearing party, who was in the midst of clearing the labyrinth. He wondered if they had found any thing good. It had been a while since he and Sapphira had spoken.

"So Akira...what are you doing here in the forest? You look like someone from the assault team." Silica asked. He frowned and shrugged.

"I used to be part of the assault team but I've been staying away from bosses for a while." he said.

"Why is that?" she asked curiously.

"Did you hear about the guy that killed a player on the second floor?" he asked earning a nod from her.

"Well, that's me...I didn't mean to do it purpose. He tried attacking me from behind, and I accidentally got into the stance for one of my sword skills. The system assist ended up making me kill him. Ever since then, I've kept clear from the main towns and boss raids. They keep calling me a murderer, even though it was a legal duel and I tried to forfeit." he said.

"I don't see you as a murderer. You could have let me die when those wolves attacked. If you were a murderer, you'd be killing other players...I don't see that in you." she said, giving him a firm look.

"You're too trusting...there's a lot of bad people in this game. Just give it a few more months, you'll know what I'm talking about. Thanks though, it's nice to at least see someone with trust." he said firmly.

They stayed quiet focusing on reaching their destination. The snow started falling a bit harder, and that seemed to urge them on. After all, they could just teleport back to Hosenka Village.

"Um...I've been meaning to ask...why did you start playing SAO?" he asked, getting a weird look from Silica.

"I don't have any friends to hang out with, or siblings to play with. I thought, maybe if I started playing a game like SAO, I'd meet some people. I didn't know all of this was going to happen though...took me weeks to finally leave the Town of Beginnings."

"Yeah, things weren't good on day one. I heard stories of people getting trampled, I just wanna know who it was that screamed. My friend Nick wants to maim them." he said absentmindedly. The girl chuckled, looking away from him.

"Y-yeah, I wonder who it is too."

"You know, you're a brave girl Silica. You're not letting this whole mess keep you down, and are moving on with your life. I admire that...not many have the gull to do what you do. Hell, over four thousand people are still on the first floor."

"I'm not that brave. I just got sick of just waiting for the game to be cleared. Sitting around wasn't going to get anything done...I heard that rumor about that special beast taming quest weeks ago, so I've been leveling myself up and getting some strong armor to complete the quest. I just thought, maybe if I tame a monster, I can become strong enough to help the assault team." she said.

"Don't worry, I'll help you finish this quest. I can always get the flower later." he said, ruffling her hair.

It didn't take them long to reach the cave. The wind had picked up and it had gotten way colder than it was before. They hurried into it, shaking the snow off themselves. Akira handed Silica a Health Potion, along with a Teleport Crystal.

"In case it gets hairy in there, I want you to have these. The crystals can teleport you to any Teleport Gate."

"But, I can't just leave you behind." Silica said, looking at the blue crystal in her hand.

"I'll be fine, trust me. I just have to switch my equipment and skill palettes." he said, opening his menu. He drew his Dagger from his sheath and put it back in his items storage, allowing it to disappear from his hand. His Nightfall Blade +3 appeared in his hand, along with its sheath. He switched his palette over and sheathed his sword, closing his menu.

They walked in deeper into the cave, taking out any monsters that were in the area. Akira kept a close watch on Silica, making sure her HP was staying in the green. Whenever she got in the red, they switched out until her Battle Healing got her back into the green. She was able to reach level 200 on her Battle Healing, as well as Level 14. She also unlocked Fad Edge on her dagger skills.

"How deep do you think this cave goes?" Silica asked.

"Who knows? Must be pretty deep. The clearers already went through here, so there isn't anything worth finding." he muttered dryly. Sometimes, staying away from town had its repercussions.

"What about traps? Do you think they disarmed any of them?" she asked.

"Perhaps...not many people go for trap disarming skills...then again I got my lock picking skills up to three hundred last week." he said with a shrug.

They reached a clearing where all the paths joined in the center of the cave. There was a glowing object on the other side of the room, but there was also a giant red spider standing before it.

"Fuck...I think what we want is on the other side of that thing. We can probably take it on, if we focus on its legs and stun it from behind." he muttered. He looked back at Silica who was frozen in place.

"Uh...you okay?" he asked.

"A-A-Akira...I'm..s-s-cared of s-s-piders." she said.

"Don't worry...its not real..just a bunch of 1s and 0s." he said. She still wasn't budging. He sighed and drew his sword, slowly walking toward the spider. It had a glowing aura around it, which made the hair on his neck stand on end.

The Hairy Tarantula was this monsters name. It had four HP bars, and its cursor was crimson red, meaning it was his level. He had learned real quick that cursors were your life savers. Back on the third floor, he had run into a monster with a black cursor, and quickly found out that those monsters were impossible at the level he was at. Super Bosses were also being found in areas no one would expect, that's why those places had corridor crystals with the towns set to them, that way, no one would die from the surprise monster. The monster finally noticed him, and quickly fan for him. Akira let out a battle shout and met it in the center, jumping up and activating a skill.

"Vertical."

His sword glowed a bright purple as he brought his sword down on the spiders face. It cried in pain as a large red gash was left behind. He jumped back and slashed at its legs, leaving little slash marks on them. The spider quickly faced him, sending out a green colored haze at him. He covered his mouth and nose and held his breath, trying not to let it poison him. This gave the spider the chance to attack. He groaned in pain as his HP dropped a bit. He noticed he had the Agility Down debuff next to his HP bar.

" _Damn, just what I needed."_

He jumped back, avoiding another tackle from the spider. He slid behind it and unleashed a couple good hits on its massive abdomen. It squeaked in pain, one of its HP bars broke, leaving only three behind.

"Looking good. Come at me Spider, we can tango all night if we have to. I ain't doing shit for New Years." he said, dashing toward it. His sword glowed blue as he activated Horizontal Slash.

Silica watched in awe, as Akira stood, toe to toe with an enemy that was three times stronger than she was. She stood there, shivering a bit because of the giant spider. She had feared them since she was younger, so seeing a giant one obviously brought back those fears. However, Akira's HP bar was steadily dropping into the yellow, even with Battle Healing active. She saw him get another debuff, as well as a stun.

" _Akira-san...he's risking his life for my sake...I can't let him do that."_

She swallowed hard and drew her dagger. She dashed forward, holding it tightly in her hands.

"Akira-san, switch out." she called out.

"What are you crazy? This thing is too strong for you. It's level thirty five." he said firmly.

"Just switch and heal up, I'll keep it distracted." she said, thrusting her dagger into its abdomen. It turned toward her, focusing on the weaker pray. Silica started walking backward, eyes focused. She was scared to death, but she wasn't backing out. The Giant Spider lunged at her and she jumped out of the way.

"Side Bite." she cried, throwing a double slash at its legs.

It was barely enough to make its third bar hit the yellow. Akira grit his teeth and pulled out a Recovery Crystal, using it on himself. His HP went back to the green and his debuffs were gone. It was his only one, as it had been way to expensive to buy more than one. He dashed forward, sword glowing.

"Silica, switch out." he said. She nodded and jumped back, allowing him to attack the spider. With a battle shout, he activated his current burst skill.

"Star Quint Prominence." he shouted. His sword glowed bright crimson as the system guided his sword. Silica watched as he literally drew a star on the creatures body. He jumped back, its third bar shattered, and the fourth one hit the yellow. He wasted no time to dash forward, unleashing another sword skill.

" _Akira-san...just how strong are you?"_ she thought to herself.

Akira parried another hit, and rapidly spun on his heel, slicing through one of its legs, making it shatter into pixels. That seemed to piss the spider off even more as it lunged toward him, fangs glowing a sickly green. It had been spamming its Poison Bite for a while now, and he was doing all he could not to get poisoned. He didn't have any antidote crystals to heal it. He decided it was time to try one of the new sword skills he had unlocked. His blade begun glowing a bright purple, illuminating the room.

"Vertical." he shouted, bringing the sword down.

The purple light from the sword skill blinded him a bit, but he had grown used to it by now. The third HP bar shattered, leaving it with its final bar, barely above the yellow. The spider started going a bit crazy now. It turned around and started shooting globs of silk at them. Akira barely dodged one thick glob that was aimed at him. The spider turned to Silica, quickly dashing at her.

"Oh Shit! Silica watch out."

Sadly due to her fear, she was frozen in place. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, only it never came. Akira had blocked the attack with the blunt edge of his sword. He pushed back as hard as he could, causing the spider to retreat. He had been affected by Darkness and Bleed...she could see it on his HP bar. She also saw the pool of blood at his feet. He let out a battle cry and lunged forward. He brought his sword down, slashing the spiders face. He slashed it across and then brought the sword down. He spun on his heel, slashing it a forth time.

"Horizontal Square." he shouted.

The skill ended and the slashes exploded, making the spider shatter into a million pieces. Silica watched, as the pixels flew around her. The congratulations banner appeared above them, as well as the menu that told them of their experience. Her eyes widened a bit, as she had gone from level 14 to level 22. She looked back at Akira who was kneeling on the ground, panting a bit. He was still bleeding, so his HP bar kept dropping.

"Oh no." she said, pulling out the potion he had given her. She took the cap off and poured it over his head. She sighed as his HP went back into the green. He looked at her, eyes unfocused.

"Thanks Silica. It shouldn't be too long before these debuffs wear off." he said.

"Why'd you do that?" she asked, making him tilt his head.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Risk your life to save mine. That spider could have easily killed you...I mean...I'm only level 14..well..level 22 now." she said..he laughed, shaking his head.

"Silica, I'm Level 32." he said. Her eyes widened.

"What...how? There aren't even that many monsters that give out that much experience." she said.

His darkness finally disappeared, allowing him to see again. He looked at his menu, seeing that he had received 5,945 experience points, which had been enough to raise him to level 33. He also noticed he had gotten a rare boss drop, special armor made from the hide of the spider he'd killed. That would raise his stats another three or four points..or if it was Silica...her stats would be doubled...at least until she reached near his level. He opened his trade menu and sent the request.

"Actually, there's a way to bypass the leveling threshold. For games like this one, if you get to a high enough level, you'll be basically untouchable, until someone stronger than you comes along and wrecks your shit of course. The way that I rose so many levels so early...well...I took on the super boss on the fifth floor." he said, rubbing his neck. Her eyes widened.

"You mean to tell me...that was a Super Boss?" she asked.

"No...that was just a mid level boss. That's easy pickins for me, maybe another beta tester or two who's gotten the same idea as me. Basically, if you fight a Super Boss with armor strong enough to defend you and a sword strong enough for it to do damage, you'll get tons of experience. But I get double the experience when I use the Exp Gain buff, which sadly I didn't equip this time." he said with a shrug. The trade request menu appeared and he started sending all of the equipment he had just gotten to her.

"Wait...your giving me all of this equipment? Why?" she asked.

"It'll raise your stats a few levels and keep you well guarded for awhile." he said. He sifted through all the equipment he currently used, eyes falling on his current Dagger...he had a Blood Fang Dagger, which he had gotten from the Super Boss he'd fought. He thought about it for a second before sending it as well.

"Are you sure this is okay? I mean all of this gear is not only rare, but expensive as well." she said.

"I don't mind you need it more than I ever will. Besides I can always get something stronger...now why don't we look for what he came for?" he asked. She nodded, accepting the trade request. All of the items were sent to her item storage, as it would have been to heavy to carry. They both walked toward the altar that was glowing a bright blue.

"Oh wow...it's the Frost Flower." Silica said. Said flower was growing out of a crack in the rock. It was a whitish blue color, and was glowing brightly. The leaves and stem were made of ice, but the petals were silky, almost as if it were made of actual silk.

"Didn't you say there was a beast here for you to tame? Where is it?" he asked, looking at the brunette. She sighed.

"Maybe my Beast Taming skill wasn't high enough." she said sadly. He ruffled her hair.

"Don't be sad. You'll find a beast to tame and they'll become your best friend." he said. He reached for the flower and grabbed its stem, pulling it free. The rest of it shattered into tiny little pixels. He tapped the center of it and it dematerialized into his menu.

"Well, that's another quest finished. I guess we can head back now, I wanna walk through the snow for a bit." he said, earning a nod from Silica.

They turned around, only to come face to face with a feathered dragon. It was light blue, with beady red eyes and sharp looking teeth. It looked like a baby, but even baby dragons could be dangerous. He couldn't get a good read on its cursor either. Silica drew her dagger, and he stopped her, shaking his head.

"Instead of killing it, I got a better idea." he said, digging in his pocket. He pulled out a pack of peanuts, tearing it open. He poured the little roasted nuts into Silica's hand, allowing the foil to shatter from his hand.

"Go on...see if you can tame it." he said. She looked at him nervously, and gave him a slight nod. She slowly approached the dragon, which had a defensive look on its face. She swallowed hard, holding her hand out.

"H-hello...are you hungry?" she asked it. The dragon narrowed its eyes, and started flying toward her hand. It sniffed the peanuts for a few seconds, before taking one in its mouth. It cooed, eating the rest of the nuts in her hand. Silica giggled, petting its head.

"Well, looks like she likes you. Go ahead and tap its forehead to open the menu, you'll be able to tame it and give it a name." he said. She nodded and opened the menu, hitting the tame option. The little dragon glowed brightly, and its cursor changed from pink to light yellow. A holographic keyboard appeared before her.

"I dunno what to name you...umm...I know, I'll call you Pina. Just like my cat in the real world, I've missed her a lot, so you can me by virtual Pina." she said, typing the name into the bar..she hit okay, and the feathered dragon's HP bar appeared under her own. It also appeared under Akira's HP. He smiled.

"Well, it seems like we both got what we wanted, I would have called it Alduin, but that's just me. It's nice to meet you Pina, I'm Akira, a friend of Silica's." he said, the dragon cooed its greeting and landed on his head, still eating some peanuts. Silica giggled.

"Aw, she likes you." she said. Akira rolled his eyes. Maybe today wasn't such a bad day to have gone out.

Akira decided to teleport back to Rurio, instead of the small village before the Snowcap forest. The Blizzard had kicked in early, and the whole town was bathed in snow. Silica hugged her coat tightly to herself, and Akira hugged Pina tightly to himself, to keep her warm. Both of them entered the nearby inn, shaking the snow from their clothes.

"Man, that came out of nowhere. How about we rent a room here for the night? I'll go turn in those quests and be back before dinner. It'll give you enough time to bond with Pina." he said, letting the small dragon fly back to its master.

"Okay...I got enough money for renting a room, so please I'll pay it. It's the least I can do for helping me so much." she said. He nodded.

"Guess I can't change your mind. Alright, I'll be back." he said, leaving the inn.

Normally, he'd have turned the quest in after the snow storm, but at the moment, he really needed that recipe. He walked through the snow, seeing as the NPC's were shoveling the snow out of the way of their homes. Other players walked by, bundled up in their winter coats, others didn't really care about the cold and walked out in their armor, some had their weapons out in town as well.

He made it to the Teleport Gate, where the quest giver NPC was. He had a green exclamation mark above his head, and was standing there stock still. He walked up to him and initiated the conversation.

"Yo, welcome back...did you bring back the items I requested?" he asked.

"I brought back the flower and slew all of the wolves. Here's the flower." he said, materializing it from his inventory. The NPC took it, a smile on his face.

"Thanks, here are the quest rewards. I hope you have a nice new year." he said warmly. Akira nodded, bidding his farewells. He looked over his Menu, seeing the Grand SP Potion Recipe and the Grand Potion Recipe was added to his recipe list. He smiled, knowing now that his Potion Mixing skills were actually gonna help him with something.

"Hey look, its the murderer...what's he doing in town?"

"Probably planning to off other players. Stay away from him."

Akira sighed, ignoring the comments of the players he passed. That was the reason why he tended to avoid towns. Someone threw a snowball at him, which he dodged. His Evasion wasn't the best for nothing. He glared at the one who threw it, intimidating him a bit.

"Don't piss me off kid." he said.

"What are you gonna do? Kill me?" he asked.

"No, but I can still hit you. The AREA system stops people from dying, it doesn't stop me from beating the shit out of you. Hell, I can even slash you with my sword, you won't take damage, but you'll piss your pants." he said firmly.

"You asshole, where do you get off insulting people like that?" another player asked. Akira glared at him, making the player shiver in fear. He smirked.

" _Leveling up my Intimidation Skill was so damn worth it."_

"Akira-san."

He turned around, seeing Silica running toward him. She slid to a stop beside him, looking around at the other players. Pina landed on her shoulder, garnering attention from everyone.

"Silica, what are you doing here?"

"Pina got worried when you took a little extra time to get back. She wanted me to check on you." she said.

"Skreeww." Pina cried in agreement.

"Sorry Pina...I was just...dealing with something. Lets go." he said, pulling Silica along. He glared at the other players, all of them shivering a bit.

After they got back to the inn, he was greeted by Sapphira, who had returned from another mission. He introduced her to Silica and Pina, who she hugged as tightly as possible. After their initial greeting, they moved up to their rented room, where Sapphira decided to crash for the rest of the day. The heat was at a perfect level, so they could all relax a little. Silica was in the kitchen, making cocoa for everyone. Sapphira smirked, glancing at the brown haired girl.

"So, how'd you meet her?" She asked, glancing back at Akira who was digging through his menu. He glanced up at the green haired girl, brows furrowed.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Idiot, how'd you meet Silica?" she asked, keeping her voice a little low. She didn't want the girl hearing, that and Pina was asleep on Akira's lap.

"Oh...I was doing the Snowcap Forest quest to get the Frost Flower and to kill the White Dire Wolves and I just...saved her from an attack." he said.

"You decided to party up? How unlike you." she said, leaning back in the soft leather arm chair.

She crossed her legs, bringing her hands behind her head. She was wearing a sleeveless green sundress, with obsidian chest plates. She was wearing matching green stockings, along with black armored greaves. She had her hair down for some reason or another.

"We gotta step out of our comfort zones sometimes Sapph. After all, your the one that wanted to make tons of friends. How's that going on for you?" he asked, earning a glare from her.

"Screw you. My friends list is at least full of people who don't suspect me being a Beater. Who the hell do you have in your friends list? Just me?" she asked.

"No...I got other friends. I got...Argo and Nick, and Aries, and Asuna, and Kirito, oh and that fool Yamada is still in my friends list sadly. Kid sucks at being an information broker." he muttered dryly.

"Seven friends..whoop de doo. Hows that for getting out of your comfort zone?" she said. He flipped her off and continued looking through his items list. She giggled and shook her head.

"Why don't you take your armor off? And put the sword away. We're not going anywhere." she said.

"My purple coat is my closest friend. I'm not taking it off, no sirree." he said firmly.

"Aw come on, don't wanna show the virtual muscles?" she teased.

"Pfft, that is not the issue. I just feel comfortable...besides, why don't you take off your armor? Afraid I'll keep staring at the girls?" he asked, gesturing to her chest. She gasped.

"So you do stare at them a lot. I knew it, perv."

"How can I not stare? Those things are the size of planets." he said.

"Breast size is a woman's sign of maturity. It proves that we're ready to step up to the plate and mother our own children, and love our husbands." she said firmly, crossing her arms.

"Right..is that why you hide them behind thick armor? Because you're not mature enough to mother children?" he asked.

"Could you two please not argue? It's New Years eve, we should be relaxing and celebrating it as friends..sure I may have just met Sapphira-san, but I'm sure we can be friends as well. So how about it?" Silica asked, setting a tray of snacks on the wooden table, along with a tray of hot cocoa. The Green haired girl sighed.

"The squirt is right...we should be celebrating this holiday. I mean...we actually made it past Christmas. The fact that tomorrow is the start of a new year, it scares me...knowing that we'll be stuck here past the new year." she said sadly.

"Hey, none of that. You don't have to be scared Sapphira, you just need to focus on clearing the game. I promise we'd get out of here and we will...and if not...then we can at least enjoy ourselves no?" he asked. She smiled.

"You're so full of hope Akira...I don't know how you do it."

"When your stuck in a wheel chair, you tend to start longing for the things you could have done before. Now that I have that, I want to enjoy it as much as I can. If I have to live in Sword Art Online for the rest of my life...I'm prepared to do it." he said with a bright smile. She nodded and opened her menu, taking off her armor plates and greaves, staying barefoot.

"Don't stare at them or I will stab you." she said. He rolled his eyes and unequipped his own armor, staying in a light purple shirt and long pants.

"Thanks for the cocoa Silica..it tastes amazing." Sapphira said, taking a long sip from her mug. Akira did the same, loving the taste. The younger girl blushed.

"Well, I do try to make things more intricate than this. My cooking skills aren't that good, but even I can make cocoa. Sorry I couldn't make more than cheese and crackers." she said, taking a seat on the other free couch.

"No its nothing. At least we're here with friends right?" Sapphira asked. Both of them nodded. Akira continued looking through his items, finally getting rid of all the things that weren't useful.

"So um...Akira-san.."

The boy looked up, seeing the sheepish look on Silica's face. He forced a smile onto his face, hoping to ease her a bit.

"What's up, Silica-chan?" he asked. Normally he didn't use titles, but he figured she would be more at ease.

"Are you...really in a wheel chair?" she asked. He remained silent, eyes drifting back to the menu.

"I am...it was a bad accident, but there's a chance I can walk again. I just need the surgery on my spine. However, one of my knees was broken beyond repair, so talk of amputation was drifting around. They were thinking of giving me a mechanical leg, a prototype prosthetic of the new generation." he said.

"I'm so sorry Akira, I didn't know your situation was so...difficult." Sapphira said. He shook it off.

"Don't sweat it, we're in SAO right now. No need to worry about the real world, let's just enjoy the game." he said happily. The two girls shared an odd look.

"So Akira-san, now that the fifth floor is gonna be cleared, does that mean you'll be going after the Sixth Floor Super Boss?" Silica asked.

"The what?" Sapphira asked, eyes wide.

"If there is one, I will." he replied.

"Excuse me, are we gonna glaze over the words Super Boss?" Sapphira asked forcefully, leaning forward and setting her steaming mug down.

"You didn't know? Akira goes after Mid Level and Super bosses to raise his level. He's level 33 right now." the brunette said.

"He's WHAT?" she asked, making Akira stand up. Poor Pina had a rude awakening when she hit the floor.

"Well look at the time, I might as well go to sleep." he said, walking over to his room.

"You son of a bitch, get your ass back here. How dare you take on Super Bosses when you can die?" She shouted. Sadly the door closed in front of her.

"Damn it, you know I can pick this lock asshat."

"No you can't. You can't pick locks of rooms rented by players." he said, the voice sounding muffled. Sapphira continued pounding the door, hoping to hell it would hit its durability level. Silica and Pina shared a look, before laughing. At least it was going to be a great New Year.

Xxx

"Hmm...so that's how she got the dragon." Rain muttered to herself, as Akira finished the next part of his story. They had just left the Town of Beginnings, heading up the path that would eventually lead to Tolbana. Honestly, he could have flown to the caverns, but it was a nice day and he didn't feel like walking.

"Silica and I would party up quite a bit after this, mostly after the Frontlines cleared Floor 35. She got herself the cutest apartment on that floor. It's a floor that holds significance to me and all of my friends."

"So, we're up to the year 2023...I remember in that time, the front lines moved from floor five to floor 23 in around a month or so." Rain said.

"Yup, aren't you well read? Anyway, the Frontlines fought like no tomorrow. I was convinced someone had fed them crack water at some point. It was crazy, clearing all of those floors that fast, it only inspired more people into getting out there." he said.

"Interesting, so...tell me something...is Silica you're girlfriend?" Rain asked, a smirk on her face.

"Hell no! Silica is like a sister to me. Besides she's two years younger than I am." he replied.

"So? Age is but a number...you can definitely score a cute date somewhere in Alfheim." she said.

"Rain, I'm not dating my surrogate sister. Keep at it, and I'll cut your hair off." he said, causing her to go wide eyed.

"No, I love my hair and it takes four days to grow back if it gets cut!" she exclaimed. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Hmm...maybe we should take a little break from this story. I'm actually looking forward to this little raid of ours." he said.

"Sure, we can take a break. Come on, I'll race you!" the redhead cried out, shooting into the sky.

"You'll never win Leprechaun! Imps are the second fastest race in Alfheim!" he cried out, flying right after her, quickly closing the distance. He hated to admit it, but this had been the most fun he had in awhile. Maybe spending time with Rain would drive him out of his funk.


	6. Aincrad Arc: First Customer

**A/N: well...I'll be damned...here we are at chapter six and still three reviews, that's a first for me...I usually get one or two reviews a chapter, but I guess not this time around. It's most likely due to the fact that this is the same as before, just with added stuff. But, I am doing a double post tonight, so that may get me more reviews...maybe.**

 **Seriously everyone, leave me a review, I just want to know how I'm doing story wise. It might be edited stuff, but I did add some extra stuff to each chapter, and I would really appreciate feedback on this. It isn't my first SAO story, so I know what to expect from the reviews, just remember to be nice about it. And if you are a guest and feel the need to leave a shit post that I can't reply too, well just stop yourself before you do because it's just getting deleted.**

 **So, I'm also going to be adding some extra stuff on floors that aren't talked about. In a previous chapter I spoke about me naming all of the unnamed floors, and I plan on doing unique stuff on those. I want to make this story stand out from all of the generic garbage in this fandom, and yes I'm not sugar coating it, some of the stories in his fandom are crap, but then there are those that are a diamond in the rough. I would like to name one that's actually really good. It's called the Gilded Trio, check it out and show the author some love, so far I'm on Chapter Six and I'm really liking it.**

 **Anyway, today I will be doing a double post, Chapters Six and Seven will be ready for reading, hehe...so let me know how the are, please I implore you. Also, I might be doing some Danganronpa One shots soon. I won't be exactly continuing my saga yet, but I think it will be good to do some stuff I couldn't do in the original stories. It will mostly involve either Daisuke or Yuno two of my oc's. It will either explore relationships with other girls or some other stuff, though Yuno and Sayaka are a pair that will always be together, no matter what. They just look cute in my opinion. As for Daisuke, he's got Sonia, Ibuki, Mikan, Takane, and even Celestia, so I might explore those relationships a bit. Nothing is a given though as I am pretty busy with this story.**

 **So, enough of the rambles...enjoy this chapter, at a Medium Pace.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 6

First Customer

Akira and Rain landed outside of the cave system on the first floor of Aincrad. Thankfully, the geology of the floor hadn't been tampered with when Yvir bought the rights from RECT Progress. He did head however that the bosses in New Aincrad had gotten significantly stronger, so much so that even the leaders of the Nine Races were planning to tackle each new floor. It would be perfect for Akira is he could fight all of the bosses he missed the first time, but in order to do that, he would have to get better equipment.

"Well this is it. Back in SAO, a lot of amateur blacksmiths came here to get some good ore. Since no one has been here yet, as far as I know, we'll get dibs on anything we find." Akira said.

"Awesome, it's been awhile since I got my hands on some good ore...maybe I can increase my smithing skills." she said, drawing her twin swords from her scabbards. Akira did the same, both of them entering the cave.

Seeing all of the glowing walls brought memories back for Akira. He had spent a long time level grinding in this place, it had been how he had been able to reach level five before the first boss battle. Back when Sword Art Online was still in its infancy. He felt a shiver go down his spine, another bad memory rearing its head again.

"Are you alright Akira? We can turn back if it's too much for you." the redhead said, in a caring tone. He shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine. I just remembered...two hundred players died in this cave. No one knew exactly how they died, but someone said something about a Mid-Level Boss being found here."

"Oh uh...sorry...I didn't know this place was a graveyard." she replied.

"No no...if this was old Aincrad than it would be, but this is New Aincrad, remember?" he asked. She nodded, a frown on her face.

As they walked deeper into the cavern, the area split into several other paths. Walking around were a few small Golems. Akira quickly dashed forward, slashing one across the chest. He spun around, driving his two swords across its chest, a dull clang filling the cavern. The Golem threw a punch at him, which he blocked with ease.

"Rain, switch in!" he cried back. The redhead nodded, dashing past Akira, one of her swords glowing a bright green. With a cry, she used Slant to deliver a strong slash on the rock monster. Before the Post Skill motion activated, she rose her second sword in another Slant, finishing the creature off.

"Whoa, what was that?" Akira asked.

"Oh, that's a technique one of my friends came up with. Since there aren't any Dual Wielding Sword Skills, he created something called Skill Connect. Basically, you have to activate one handed sword skills for each sword, before the Post Skill Motion kicks in. This will link each skill to make a combo." she said.

"Wow, that sounds a lot harder than it looks." he admitted.

"It takes a little while to get, I'll admit." she said, giggling a bit.

"Let's continue...there should be some treasure around here." he said, walking down the left path.

"So, about Silica, did you ever find any other feathered dragons?" Rain asked curiously.

"Um no...I think Pina was the only one of her kind. Dragons are rare in Aincrad, and even when I asked Argo for information, she had a hard time coming up with a list of tameable monsters. I wanted her to name it Alduin, but she didn't get the reference." he admitted, rubbing his neck.

"I doubt anyone but you would get the reference, thankfully I got it. Dovahkiin." she said, giving him a wink.

"Oh thank you! Do you have any idea what it's like living in a culturally retarded generation? Like I remember the first time I logged into ALO, this was before I transferred all my SAO data and built this avatar. I chose the Cait Sith race so that I could become uber powerful. Alicia Rue asked me why, and I told her I wanted to be a Sith Lord, and she just stood there like a damn goldfish. It was terrible!" he cried out.

"How could she not have understood that? Even I got that reference!"

"Some people just don't watch good shows anymore. I doubt she even knows what a Light Saber is! At least one good thing came out of that though." he said.

"And that was?" the redhead asked curiously.

"Her friend Sakuya was a total Pokemon freak. We spent three hours talking strategies for the TGC, and how to easily EV and IV train in the old games. It's a shame Nintendo stopped making games back in 2019, maybe they can strike a deal with Yvir and make a Pokemon update for ALPheim online!" he said.

"Pfft, yeah right. That would be freaking mind blowing, I didn't know you liked those old RPGs so much." she said.

"Eh, my mom was born in the Nineties. Pokemon was the shit in her generation, so she had all of the games in her collection. And she lets me play them whenever I want." he said proudly.

"Maybe I should visit you in the real world, I would totally kick your ass in Pokemon, hands down." she said.

"Challenge accepted, but...would you really like to come over? I mean, I'm not really that special." he said.

"Don't you dare say that Akira! You are my precious friend, even if we just met! I feel like I've known you for years now. I would definitely like to meet up IRL...when we log out, I'll email you my contact information so we can meet up." she said.

"Oh alright, I'll do the same...my mother will be happy to see I made a friend I can interact with outside of ALO." he said, smiling a bit.

As they continued clearing the cavern, the two ended up talking about their real world activities. Rain actually expressed how she wanted to be an Idol, but felt really nervous when she was on stage, even when her sister egged her on. Akira said he wouldn't mind going to one of her concerts, and that made her blush quite a bit.

Reaching a clearing within the cavern, the ended up hitting the jackpot. There was a large treasure chest in the back of the room, along with large pieces of metal ore sticking out of the walls. Rain was about to run into the chamber, when Akira caught her hand.

"Don't, I have an inkling there's a boss or something in this cave. Since it's just the two of us, we need to plan accordingly." he said, opening his menu. He unequipped one of his swords, choosing to remain with the one Rain had given him, since it was the stronger of the two. He also brought out some healing crystals, which he shoved in his pocket. He handed a few to Rain who just looked at them oddly.

"You want me to have these? They're like, really expensive."

"Don't worry about it, I have tons of healing items. I spent an entire day in a dungeon farming them. Besides I got more money than I know what to do with. One of the advantages of transferring system data over into this game." he said, giving her a wink. She blushed a bit, pocketing the crystals. The final thing he did was send her a party invite, so that he could keep an eye on her HP gauge. After all was said and done, the two walked into the clearing.

Almost like clock work, the exit behind them was blocked my a mysterious magical force field. All around them, the metallic fragments started to move, all of them meeting up in the center of the room with a loud metallic clang. A loud roar echoed through the cavern, shaking it a bit as the creature took shape.

It was a large creature, almost as big as the cavern they were in. it was formed mostly of large metallic balls. It had long rocky arms, with sharp looking metal claws. It's legs were the size of boulders, covered in a rust like metal. It gave a metallic growl as the HP bars appeared above it, four in total.

"Metalicana the Metal Kobold, this was the 26th Floor boss in the official SAO Service." Akira said, eyes widening a bit.

"Do you remember the weaknesses?" Rain asked.

"Um...piercing attacks have little effect, go for blunt and slashing skills. The knees are a weak point. If you can make it kneel, then aim for the core in the center of the chest." he said, pointing to the glowing red core. Rain nodded, holding her swords tightly in her hands.

Akira dashed forward with great speed, avoiding one of the punches the Metal monster threw at him. He took his chance, delivering a fierce slash to the creatures wrist, causing a bit of damage to its arm. Its eyes flickered as he had drawn its aggro.

"Alright, my turn to attack." Rain said, holding her hand out. Glowing words spun around her as she started charging a magical spell, with a shout, she sent a medium sized chunk of stone at the creature, stunning it a bit. Akira pulled his sword back, activating one of his skills.

"Vertical!" he shouted, swinging his sword almost in an uppercut. A large gash formed on its side, making the creature howl in pain.

"Take this!" Rain cried, delivering two Slant attacks right at its knee. The creature feel down and Akira spun around it, pulling his sword back.

"Vorpal Strike!" he cried. A swirling purple light formed at the end of his sword as he drove it forward, stabbing the crystal in the Metal Golem's chest. It's first HP bar broke, leaving the second one down on half.

"Switch out!" Akira cried, falling back. Rain took a few more hits at the creature, before it started to stand up. It rose its arms up into the air and stopped moving, a guttural groan coming from the creature.

"What's it doing?" Rain asked.

"I dunno, this wasn't in SAO. My guess, it's about to use an AoE attack. But now's my chance, keep it off me!" he said, sheathing his sword. He ran to the side of the creature, leaving Rain alone. She crossed her swords, blocking the punch the creature threw at her.

"Akira, what the hell are you doing?" she shouted.

"Hey buddy, have a taste of my Smoke Bomb!" he cried, forming a black orb of magic from his hand. It slammed into Metalicana's face, giving it the Blind status. Akira raced up the wall as fast as he could, flipping right over the creature. With a shout he drove his sword into the creature's head, knocking a huge chunk right off its body.

"What was that?" Rain cried out, eyes widened by the move he had made.

"Wall Run, as an Imp, I have the ability to run up walls. I maxed this skill out last week." he said with a sneer.

"That's not fair, Leprechauns don't get that!" she cried.

"But you get sweet Earth magic, which is strong against this monster, now use it!" he cried, dashing forward again.

The creature finally lowered its fist, slamming the ground with all of its might, causing a quake that shook the area. Akira ended up tripping, slamming into several spikes that had shot out of the ground. He groaned in pain as his HP dropped from the green into the yellow.

"Ow, that sucked." he muttered.

"Akira, get out of there!" Rain cried out, blocking some of the spikes that the creature launched at her. Akira quickly stood up, dashing back as much as he could. He glanced at the creatures HP, seeing it had dropped down to the second bar.

"We don't have much left, let's just attack it with all of our strength!" he said.

"If you say so." Rain added, giving him a nod.

The two of them ran forward, swords glowing as they activating their strongest skills. For Akira, that had been the four hit, Horizontal Square, while Rain had gone with a Triple Slash. Akira backed away as Rain activated a second Triple Slash, doing six hits worth of damage. Metalicana's HP dropped into the last bar, stopping a point shy of the green. The creature swung its arms into the two sending them flying back.

"Damn that...post skill motion." Akira said, his HP dropped into the red, leaving him with around twenty points. Thankfully his Battle Healing skill had kicked in, and had been slowly filling it back up.

"Akira, I can't move!" Rain cried out. He glanced at their HP bars, seeing the yellow Paralysis symbol on it. He grit his teeth.

"Damn it, alright I'll take care of it. Just wait until it wears off." he said, dashing forward. He cursed himself for not buying any Paralysis Potions.

"Slant!" he shouted, driving his sword across the creatures chest.

He grit his teeth, pushing through the forced pause he had to take. He dodged another fist and slammed the blunt side of his blade into the creatures knee, forcing it to the floor again. He dashed back, driving his sword into its chest. With a twist, he pulled the sword out, just as the last bit of HP disappeared. The creature swelled and exploded into polygons, the Congratulations Banner appearing above him. The menu popped open and he decided to take a look.

"2,095 EXP, 3,453 Yrd and Steel Ore. Oh, and I gained two levels, lucky me." he said.

Now that he was level twelve, he could unlock another sword skill, though he decided against it for now. He was just glad the New Aincrad Patch had brought the level system back. It was much easier for him, and paid a classic homage to the previous Aincrad. He walked back to where Rain was, just having broken from her paralysis. He held his hand out, pulling her to her feet. He noticed all of the glittering red gashes on her skin, making him frown.

"You haven't unlocked Battle Healing yet, have you?" he asked curiously.

"Nope, I don't know why but that skill just won't cooperate with me. I wanted it before the Boss Raid, but I doubt I'll get it." she replied.

"Aw, don't talk like that. I'll help you with it, if you want. It's much easier to get while on Red HP, if you want we can head back to the fields near the Town of Beginnings and hunt some of the mob there."

"I wouldn't want to trouble you. I'm sure your friends are wondering where you are right about now." she said.

"Nonsense, they haven't messaged me yet. And besides, they won't mind if I help out a friend. Now let's take a look at that chest." he said, spinning on his heel. He walked over to the wooden chest, kneeling before it. Thankfully, he didn't need to pick the lock to look inside.

The menu opened up, revealing several pieces of ore, as well as some pieces of fine leather which would make some excellent armors. He opened the trade menu, sending it all to Rain.

"There, you'll be able to craft some more stuff with that. You might even benefit from upgrading your swords. I heard they can evolve into new weapons if the right materials are used." he said.

"Don't you want any of this? I mean, you did half the work so you should at least keep half." she said.

"Don't worry about it. I would most likely take this stuff to someone else and have them craft me a sword or a dagger or something. Besides, Ashley hasn't set up shop yet so I can't exactly get some custom armor done." he said.

"Who's Ashley?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, right...Ashley is my seamstress and the one who custom made all of my clothes in SAO."

"Yay story time!" Rain cried, raising her arms above her head. He rolled his eyes, turning to face the cavern exit.

"I suppose I can continue where I left off."

xxx

 _(January 24_ _th_ _2023...2:25 PM Aincrad Standard Time: Location: Magnolia Town Plaza. Floor 23.)_

It was a beautiful day in Magnolia Town. The sun was shining, and even though it was slightly cold, the afternoon breeze was more pleasant than annoying. The 23rd floor had been cleared not long ago, and the assault team had moved on to explore the 24th floor. However, Akira had yet to move on, as he was now walking through the streets of Magnolia Town, in search of a store that had recently opened up. The city was a mixture of olden and modern, as the cobblestone paths and the brick building mixed with the natural beauty of the floor itself. NPC's and Players alike were walking through the streets, most avoiding him as always. He hoped that he could actually get the other players to stop seeing him as a murderer, but it wasn't going to stop soon.

Sapphira had been busy exploring Panereze, one floor above them. Silica had also gotten quite popular as of late, being the only person in Aincrad to tame a beast, and a feathered dragon no less, so she was busy partying with people on the lower floors. 7,956 people were left in Aincrad, and thankfully, the numbers were decreasing a bit, not as much as everyone would hope, but they were starting to decrease to around 10 players deaths a day.

Now you might be wondering why Akira was still on the 23rd floor, when he'd usually be killing monsters on the new floor. He had been searching for a secret boss, a tip he had gotten from Argo. She had no reason too, especially with the money he'd been willing to pay her. Another reason why he hadn't left was due to the store he was looking for.

There was a rumor floating around the 11th and 12th floors, saying that a Seamstress had opened up shop on the 23rd floor. It wasn't anything grand, but it was a place where people could shop for armor and casual clothes. That's why he was looking for it, because had been needing player made armor, rather than NPC armor that was easy to break.

He finally reached the store...just as the rumor had said, it wasn't anything big, but it had a homey feel to it. Large showcase windows allowed people to see the clothes that were hung up on the mannequins. There were a few dresses as well as armor pieces for males. A large sign hung above the door, the name Ashley's written on it. He nodded to himself and walked inside the store, hearing the little jingle of the bell.

Inside there were more mannequins, as well as racks filled with clothes. A few walls had different types of armor and shields, as well as a few weapons. The other side had leather armor and coats, along with chest pieces and chain mail. Pieces of light armor were strewn about as well. He headed deeper into the store, the wooden floors creaking a bit. He reached the front counter, not seeing anyone there. He looked around a bit more, noticing a bell, which he rung. The loud ding echoed through the room.

"Just a second, I'll be right out." a female voice called out.

Akira shrugged and turned around, looking at the coats near the other side of the store. They were expertly made, though not nearly as perfect as they could have been. There was a violet one that caught his eye..it had a few belts and buckles, along with a few zippers. It was a little shorter than the Lavender Coat he had now, but that didn't matter to him, especially since this one had a hood. He could run around town, pretending to be Ezio Auditore, intimidating anyone who'd call him a murderer in public. He checked the tag, eyes widening.

" _On second thought, I'd rather not."_

"Hello, welcome to Ashley's...I'm Ashley the owner and maker of all these clothes. How may I help you?"

Akira turned around, laying his eyes on the young woman before him. She looked around his age, maybe a year or two older than him. She was wearing a plain white tee shirt, along with a matching red plaid pleated skirt. He couldn't see behind the counter, but he did see the tops of black stockings. She was also wearing a belt around her waist. She had long straight red hair, which she tied up into straightened twin tails. She had light red eyes, which narrowed a bit.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here." she said firmly. He sighed.

"Let me guess, you know who I am because of the crap that's filtering through Aincrad, and now you think I'm a murderer too." he said, crossing his arms.

"You're not really denying it."

"I'm not. Like I say to everyone who wasn't there, Ralph attacked me while I was trying to forfeit. I got into the wrong stance and the system activated my Horizontal Slash Sword Skill, accidentally finishing him off. I had no intention to kill him, it just happened. If you however see me as a murderer, I guess I'll just take my business elsewhere." he said, turning around.

"No wait...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just gone by what the rumors say...you don't look like a killer, and I believe you. Once the system kicks in, it's almost impossible to stop it." she said.

"It's alright I guess...after 22 floors, you sort of get used to it. Listen Ashley, I'm in need of some new armor. I'm mostly an agility type, with a focus on strength, dexterity and evasiveness, though defense wouldn't hurt either. I have the materials in my inventory, if your willing to make it for me, I think we can reach an agreement." he said.

"Um..well..thing is, I don't normally just make armor or clothes for people. I have to be interested in it, or have the best material, and trust me...there isn't any good material from the lower floors that I can use to make you something good. But if your willing to bare with me for a bit, I think we can reach that agreement." she said, a smile on her face.

"Uh...what do you mean by that?" he asked. She smirked, leaning over the counter.

"Well, Mister Akira, rumor has it that you've been seen taking down super bosses. No one knows exactly what your level is, but your putting a lot of other players off by taking all of the Experience found on every floor, along with rare materials." she said. He sighed.

"Damn it Argo, sometimes you can't keep that damn mouth of yours shut." he said, looking at the floor with disdain.

"Oh cheer up. At least your the strongest person at the moment, who knows, maybe there's someone out there stronger than you." she said, crossing her arms under her breasts.

"If you say so. Sadly, I'm not willing to reveal my level to anyone...what is it that you um...require of me?"

"I hear there's a Hidden Dungeon here on the 23rd floor...no one has found it, but people have stated that NPC's have spoken of it. No matter how much they search, they don't find it. I talked to one NPC and asked him about it, and he said it won't reveal itself to anyone, except those who know where to find it. It's not on any map and there's no quest data on it. Everyone just assumes it's a special event, but sadly, that's not the case." she said.

"How are we supposed to find something that reveals itself to the lost and no one can find it except those who know where it is? Wait...that sounds mad familiar." he muttered.

"It does doesn't it? Methinks Kayaba is cinephile." she said, placing a hand on her cheek.

"At this stage in the game, I'm willing to be anything. I got the time, I might as well help you out...it won't be long until I find it." he said, turning around.

"The thing is, you need someone on your party with a level 500 sowing skill." she said, causing him to stop.

"You heard about this boss from a rumor, the cave only appears to those who are lost, but only those who know where it is can find it, and you need someone on your party that has a level 500 sowing skill to find it? What kind of logic is that? Especially if this is based on a rumor." he asked.

"You ever play Final Fantasy 11? Ashley asked.

"Not really, what does that ancient game have to do with this?" he asked.

"Oh man, then you don't truly know what a pain in the ass quests and truly be."

"Whatever, I guess we should party up. What kind of weapon do you use?" he asked, sending that party request.

"Two handed great sword." she said nonchalantly.

"You...fight with a Two handed great sword? I haven't even unlocked any skills for it. I heard you have to master one handed sword to unlock its mastery."

"Yeah, I was able to master one handed swords easily. It takes a long ass time, but if your willing to stay on the lower floors, you'll be able to unlock it rather easily." she said, accepting his request.

"I..suppose so...I'm usually a dagger person, but I am leveling up one handed sword, maybe I'll try two handed sword later on...well..shall we?" he asked.

She nodded, and grabbed her keys. After they left the store, she put her keys in her inventory and materialized her armor. Just as he expected, she was using light armor. She also equipped some black and gold gauntlets, with a few designs on it, as well as her two handed sword, which was sheathed to her back. It reminded him of Cloud's Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII, as it was a deep steel color and sported an angled point. She also had a golden ring on her finger, which most likely rose some sort of stat or boosted the possibility of what ever debuffs her weapons had.

"Alright, where is this cave that only appears to those who know where it is?" he asked. She opened her map, humming to herself.

"I think it's around the labyrinth area..like I said, no one has found it. But there is an area on this floor that no matter who goes in, it never gets mapped. Everyone thinks it's a glitch."

"Hmm, it's a start." he said, heading toward the marker she set on their shared map. After leaving the town walls, they followed the slush covered path toward the Lost Woods. A nice name for an unmappable forest. The only thing he needed now was a forest that changed its map layout every time you took another path.

"Oh look, a local mob." Ashley said, pointing to a large moth that was flying around. Near it were a few blue spotted beetles and some giant feral lady bugs. Perfect pickings for Akira. He drew his dagger, flipping it around in his hand.

"Well, I have a thing for moths, so you can take it. I'll take the beetles and then we'll team up for the lady bugs." he said.

"Sounds fine to me." she said, drawing her sword.

She ran forward, bringing the sword down on the large moth, slamming it to the ground. She spun around, bringing the weight of her sword onto the creature's body. Its HP dropped to the yellow and it jumped up, spreading its wings. It dashed at her, and she used the blunt end of her sword to block the tackle. She held the blade up slightly, and it started to glow a bright blue.

"Avalanche." she chanted, the system took over as it sliced the moth in half, making it shatter into pixels.

Akira dodged another thrusting hit from the blue spotted beetle. It tried impaling him with its large stinger, but he was too quick for the attack to hit. He ran forward, throwing a couple quick slashes at its side. He jumped back and pulled his dagger back.

"Cross Slash." he called out, dashing forward. He did a horizontal slash, followed by a vertical slash.

The beetle was stunned for a bit, allowing Akira to jump back. He slid to the side and ended its life with a single slash. Ashley finished off the second beetle, and both turned to the ladybugs. The Feral Ladybugs weren't anything like traditional ladybugs. These things were vicious, and approaching one earned you a loud hiss. Their wings were a sickly green, and instead of the crimson red and black dots, it sported a bright green and yellow dots.

"Scooped." Ashley cried out, running toward the bugs. Her sword glowed a bright gold as she thrust the sword forward. Three thick slash marks were left behind, causing the bugs to cry in pain.

"My turn, Infinite." he cried out.

He ran at one of the ladybugs, delivering an upper slash. He roundhouse kicked its side and used its momentum to deliver another slash. He spun in the opposite direction, delivering another kick before finishing off with a thrust. He paused for a bit as the Post Skill cool down took place. He glanced at Ashley from his peripheral, seeing the surprised look on her face. She shrugged it off and prepared her own skill.

"Lightning." she cried.

The skill charged for a second before her sword skill took over. She threw a diagonal slash and spun around, bringing the weight of the sword down for another slash. She brought the sword up before finishing with a horizontal slash. The ladybug shattered into pixels, and the exp menu opened up before them. She panted a bit, tired from swinging the large sword around.

"Decent exp, as expected from normal mobs. Wonder how much exp I would get from the mobs on the 24th floor?" Akira muttered.

"Decent exp? This is the best we can get at this level, 885 points from level 29 monsters seem reasonable." Ashley said.

"Oh sure, 885 points is reasonable, for people around level 35. Sadly, I'm not level 35, not even close." he said with a shrug. He sheathed his dagger and headed up the path, the redheaded seamstress watched him go, even more curious about his level the most people cared to admit.

Two hours had passed since leaving Magnolia. Both Ashley and Akira were taking a break, the walk toward the Lost Woods was taking a little longer than anticipated. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, but nothing for them to worry about. The local mobs had been taken care of, as most would either be on the 24th floor, or resting from another dungeon raid. Akira was resting on a large flat rock, surrounded by a few trees, which were covered in snow. Some still had leaves from autumn, and some were still bare. Ashley sat on the grass next to said rock. She was eating an apple that she had brought as a snack, Akira was eating a sandwich he had made for himself.

Silica had convinced him to start leveling up his Cooking Skill, and now he was able to make basic sandwiches, which was better than the ones that NPC shops sold. He looked out into the field, seeing a few monsters respawn. A few players were also around, some having fun in the melting snow, while others were focused on leveling up or collecting hard exoskeleton pieces from the bugs that were around them. A few people glared at him, it seemed people were still angry about him finishing off Ralph. Ashley looked at the other players and then back at Akira, who had a sad look on his face.

"Don't let those jackasses bring your mood down Akira. You already explained yourself countless times, I'm assuming. If they still call you a murderer, then that's on them. After all, the real murderer in all of this is Kayaba, the bastard is responsible for over 2,000 deaths and counting." she said.

"I know, but I feel that everyone I know or will know will be affected on a personal level if they know me. I'm worried your store will lose customer revenue if you associate with me. You'll be a beater by association." he said.

"Pfft, that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. To tell you the truth Akira...I haven't had a single customer visit my store." she said, earning a shocked look from him.

"No customer...like ever?"

"Nope. I opened my store two weeks ago, when the 23rd floor had been first opened. Once I saw Magnolia town, I figured it would be a great place to start a business. I had been saving up money from party raids with some friends, none of them wanted to open a business so I took it upon myself to start one. I thought, maybe if I made armor for the clearing teams, then I could make a difference you know. But it's been two weeks now and no one has showed up." she said sadly.

"So...if no one had bought anything from you, then how come I heard about your store?" he asked firmly.

"Don't know...I guess passersby glance around, but no one has gone in. I've been so bored I just stay in the back, making clothes. It's why my showroom is filled with all of that armor. I just can't stop...at least SAO gives you creative freedom for making clothes. I can replicate the style people have in the real world. It's why I have greaves that look like platform shoes." she said, glancing at her footwear. It had been one of the first things she'd made.

"Well, how about this? You make me that armor, and I'll recommend everyone I can to go see you. Sure, people get butt hurt when they see me, but if I'm wearing badass armor, they'll have to stop and ask where they got it. I'll send anyone and everyone I can to you. Hell, I'll even get my armor solely from you, that way your sowing skills can level up faster."

"You'd be willing to make me your personal seamstress and armor builder." she asked.

"Sure. I don't mind." he said with a nod. She smiled brightly, giving him a nod

"You should know that this is a great honor. Not everyone gets to have me as their personal seamstress!"

"Yeah yeah, milk it up. You're just happy you got someone to buy your overpriced stuff." he said.

"It isn't overpriced! But...thanks Akira, for making me your personal seamstress."

"No problem...we've rested long enough, its time we tackle the forest. It shouldn't be too long now." he said, jumping off the rock where he sat. he held his hand out, helping the redhead up to her feet. She finished her apple and tossed the core, which shattered after it hit the ground.

"I wonder how they got the virtual food to taste like the real thing." she said. Akira shrugged.

"It must have taken a lot of programming, along with trial and error." he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Trial and Error...I somehow feel like Kayaba just sat there for days just shouting at a mirror every time he failed to code an apple. Must have been funny as hell."

"Yes, yes it must have." the young man said, agreeing to her theory.

The Lost Woods looked just like most other forests in Aincrad. It was filled with tall trees, most being around 50 to 60 feet in height. Most of them were oak or sycamore trees, who's leaves were still on their branches. Most were a dark red or yellow, and a few were a deep shade of auburn. The deeper you walked in, the taller the trees got, with the oaks and sycamores turning into firs and larger pine and evergreen trees. Several pine cones littered the damp ground, it's grass dead and mattered from the winter. Few snow banks remained, as it was starting to melt. A few squirrels ran to and fro, most likely searching for food sources. Akira took a look around, greatly surprised by the area.

"This forest...it feels different than others I've been in." he said.

"It's got that vibe in it...the one that your about to get lost and can't do anything about it." Ashley muttered.

"Hmm, I guess we just have to pick a path and go. No bread crumb trails and no bent sticks. We'll have to get good and lost to find that cave." Akira said, deciding on the right path. Ashley matched his pace, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of life.

"So...can I ask a question?" the young spiky haired teen asked, glancing at the redheaded great sword user.

"You just did."

"No..ugh...okay let me start over. Why did you decide to become a seamstress?" he asked. She gave him a deadpanned look.

"Didn't I already tell you that?"

"No, you told me why you wanted to open a business. To help other players here in Aincrad. Why a seamstress? You could have easily been a black smith, an ore miner, a trader, a treasure hunter. Those are still options, and its not about skill either. I know you can take care of yourself." he said, glancing at her great sword. She gave him a little smile.

"The reason I wanted to be a seamstress here in Aincrad, is because that's my dream job. I want to be a fashion designer in the real world. But I'm not all that good with sowing in the real world. I have thimble for every finger, and not even a machine to sow with. My artistic side is there, and I can usually see and draw a dress, but I can't make it. The art of the dress is just what I got. So when I graduated high school, I was going to major in Art and become an Artist, maybe draw a few elegant dresses and hope some fashion expert saw them. Sadly, this whole scenario stopped that from happening."

"Oh...well, I'm sure it won't be so hard. You just gotta keep trying you know? Never give up. I don't know how long we'll be here in Aincrad, but you should make the most of it. Learn how to sow for real by memorizing the systems layout." he said.

"If it were only that easy. To put it simply, I use a machine and put the material through it, the skill does the rest. It's like forging a sword, a few taps of a hammer, and a bright flash of light and you got yourself a sword." she said with a dry laugh.

"Hmm, look at it this way. Even though your body is most likely in a hospital somewhere, at least while in here, you can live your dream. One day, this game will be cleared. Instead of waiting for that day to come, why not enjoy your time here? Forget about the fact that this is all a game..just...embrace it." he said with a shrug.

"Embrace...it? Just forget about the real world and...make this my real world?" she asked, earning a nod from him.

"I don't think I can do that Akira." she continued, looking away from him.

"It's hard for some people, easy for others...just don't sweat the small stuff." he said with a smile.

They stayed silent after that, focusing mostly on eliminating the monsters they ran across. Ashley did think about what he had said, to embrace SAO instead of hoping to one day wake up in the real world. It was a hard pill to swallow, but after almost three months of being stuck in the game, that idea was starting to sound more and more appealing. After a while, the sun started to go down, and the sky started turning a light orange. From the forest, the sunset could barely be seen, but they knew it was going to bring nightfall soon after. Ashley stopped, panting a bit from being tired.

"Can we rest for a bit?" she asked. He nodded and came to a stop, leaning against a large fir tree.

"We've been wondering around for hours now, and still no sign of this cave. You sure it even exists?" he asked.

"Of course it does. NPCs wouldn't talk about it if it didn't exist would they?" she replied, earning a shrug from the swordsman.

"To be honest with you, I don't know how to feel about NPCs. Sure they can be helpful, but sometimes. I get confused as well...they seem real to me, more real then other players or hell, even real people. However that doesn't mean their words are credible. They are just data after all."

"Even if their data, their words must have some form of credibility." she replied.

"I suppose your right. Well, since we couldn't find it, I guess we can...whoa what the hell?"

Both teens shielded their eyes, as a bright light appeared before them, smack in the center of the woods. When the light died down, they saw the opening to a cavern. Both of them were wide eyed at this turn of events. Akira checked the time, 6:00 PM. He narrowed his eyes.

"Could it be that this cave appears to those who are lost at Six o'clock instead of those who know where it is?" he asked.

"Don't know...but lets check it out. It has to be full of precious materials...I can't wait." she said, almost breaking into a run. Akira caught the back of her shirt, stopping her from running off.

"Whoa, hold it there zippy. We can't just run in there all willy nilly. We have to make sure its not booby trapped or something. I'll go first, you stay behind me." he said. She nodded, falling into pace behind him. She watched as Akira switched from his Dagger to his Sword.

" _So he wasn't kidding when he said he was mastering two weapons. Guess being sneaky and being a swordsman has it's benefits."_ she thought to herself.

The cavern before them looked like any other old cave. At least from the outside. On the inside, they saw that it was lit up by a mass of glowing crystals. Large and small blue crystals were coming out of the walls, keeping the path illuminated as they walked in. Crystalline stalactites hung from the ceiling above, looking quite sharp as they passed. The sound of distant dripping water could be heard the deeper they walked in, so far, no monsters had showed up.

"This is a little creepy." Ashley muttered.

"It is a cave. Though these crystals are interesting, I wonder if some of them are ores or ingots? Those could be really valuable." he said, glancing at some of the nearby crystals. The path they were following abruptly stopped, looking down, they noticed the small shelf that was in front of them. The path went down instead of straight. Akira jumped down, and held his hand out to Ashley, who was debating on jumping.

"Um...is it wide enough?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's wide enough for at least four people. Come on, its not gonna crumble away or anything." he said.

"Alright, but don't look. I swear if you see anything, I will stab you." she said firmly, taking his hand. He laughed and looked away, closing his eyes. The loud clack from her boots making contact with the stone alerted him to her safe jump.

"Okay, from here, I guess we can shimmy over and keep walking down all of these shelves until we hit the ground." he said, carefully walking over to the left.

He noticed the rock shelf had gotten a bit smaller, he took Ashley's hand as they slowly made their way down to the next shelf. The path ahead of them was brightly lit up with more of the crystals, though the ones ahead were a mixture of light blue and light gold. The rock crumbled under Akira's foot, causing him to stop. He took a deep breath and kept going.

"Watch yourself, it's a little loose up here." he said.

Even with his warning though, Ashley stepped on a loose part of the shelf, which crumbled under her weight. She yelped as she fell off the shelf, along with a few large rocks that fell with her. Akira held on to her as tightly as he could. He grabbed the shelf behind him, stopping their decent.

"Shit. Ashley, can you climb back up?" he asked.

"I can't get a good foot hold...all of this area keeps crumbling." she said, struggling to climb back up. With every failed attempt, more rocks fell off the shelf. Akira noticed the area where he stood also started to crumble. He sighed.

"Fuck."

The shelf crumbled and he lost his hand hold, falling down the side of the shelf. The last thing he remembered was Ashley's screams before he slammed into the ground, loosing consciousness.

He didn't know how long it had been, but the first thing he registered was pain. Pain in his head, and most likely other areas as well. He opened his eyes, and was greeted by the familiar gold and blue crystals glowing around them. He looked up at the high ceiling, seeing a few crystal stalactites hanging from it. He focused on his HP bar, seeing that it was just above half. Ashley's was slightly above the red.

"Ashley...where he hell is she?" he cried out.

He rapidly sat up and looked around. He saw a large pile of rubble, most likely from their impromptu slip and slide. He noticed the handle of a sword stick out of said rubble pile, as well as an HP bar. He got up and raced over to it, brushing some of the rocks and dirt away from the area.

Ashley was just fine, covered and dirt but still breathing. He sighed and pulled out a Healing Crystal. Uttering the word to activate it, he watched as her HP bar steadily rose from the yellow into the green. She groaned and opened her eyes, which were a bit unfocused.

"You okay?" he asked.

"A little dizzy. Thought for a second I was a goner." she said, sitting up. Her looked around, seeing nothing but the pale light from the crystals.

"Well, now that were up, I guess we can continue. I don't know how long we've been here, but I'm sure someone is at least worried about us." he said, helping her up to her feet. She brushed the virtual dust and dirt from her clothes and headed up the only path.

Akira was surprised with how long this cavern system spanned. Usually, he'd have hit a dead end by now and would have been forced to pick from one of the other paths available. As far as he knew, this was a singular path, with no branching areas or even paths that lead to treasure. The water dripping had ceased by now and they area they were passing dimmed a bit. The crystals went from a yellow hue, to a light orangey red. Perhaps they were finally approaching the final part of the dungeon.

"Wonder what kind of monster we'll be facing." Ashley muttered.

"Something big, that's for sure. You have teleport crystals ready right?" he asked.

"I got a few...I'll at least be able to do some decent damage. Even though my great sword slows me down a bit, I pack a punch, and all of my skills are Super Armor AoE skills."

"That's good, you back me up whenever I have to switch out and heal. I'll back you up as well alright?" he asked.

"Deal."

It didn't take them long to reach the final area. It was as empty as one would expect it to be, with crystals in different shades of blue, yellow and red shedding light on the entire field. On a large shelf behind it, was a red treasure chest. Akira was tempted to run in there and open it, but there was a chance that the monster would drop down first. He activated his Tracking Skill, but saw absolutely nothing.

"I guess we'll have to walk in to trigger the event. Remember, teleport if you feel like your in danger."

"Right." the redhead said, drawing her sword.

Akira did the same, walking further into the room. He heard the sound of something dropping from the air and jumped back, just as a giant Golem slammed into the ground. It's blocky appearance was due to the fact that it was made from rocks. Its solitary eye focused on Ashley, as she was the weakest of the two players at the moment.

The Golem itself was really tall, around 16 feet tall, with a blocky torso, round rocks formed the arms and legs, and at the center of its body was a glowing red core. A few crystals stuck out of its hands, simulating fingers. Four HP bars appeared around its side, along with its name.

"The Crystal Golem. A mid level boss." Akira said.

"How can you tell?"

"Super Bosses usually have black cursors above them. Their usually fifty to sixty levels above current player levels. While it takes a super long time to beat them, usually six to seven hours, its normally possible, especially with the current equipment. This though, it might have just been an optional Mid level boss that the clearers missed. All the better for us. Ashley it's going for you, so focus on defending while I do all the hard work." he said, dashing forward.

"Do the defending? Jeez, I can't defend against a rock monster." she said, though her complaint fell on deaf ears.

Akira focused on slicing the Golem's legs, if he could get it to at least kneel, he could aim his attacks at its core. However, since it was a rock type monster, sword slashes didn't do much damage to it. He had to use blunt attacks in order to weaken it. The Golem begun spinning its torso around, trying to hit its attackers with its large arms. Ashley ducked, but Akira wasn't so lucky, he got slammed in the chest and sent flying.

"Akira."

"Switch in." the teen shouted, groaning in pain as he slammed into the far wall.

Ashley grit her teeth and dashed forward, spinning on her heel, she use the momentum of her sword to deliver a fierce slash on the Golem's chest. She jumped back as it punched the ground, causing a slight quake in the area. Ashley lost her footing, and the Golem took the chance to throw a punch at her. Akira stood up, running toward her.

"Ashley, switch out." he cried.

"No, I got this. Hrgah."

A loud clang ran through the area, dust and dirt flying everywhere. Akira thought his newest friend had been sent slamming into the wall, but was surprised to see she had blocked the attack with her sword. She was struggling to hold her spot through, and he took his chance to deliver a sword skill. He jumped up, blade glowing purple.

"Vertical."

The creature groaned a bit, as a large gash was left in its arm. Akira jumped back as Ashley lifted her Great Sword above her head, even though it caused her great strain. She let out a shout, activating a skill.

"Tempest."

Light exploded from the sword as it made contact with the arm, cleanly slicing it off, it fell to the ground, shattering into pieces, and with it went the creatures first HP bar.

"Nice one Ashley. We got this, switch out." he said.

She nodded and jumped back, allowing him to deliver a few more slashes. His sword glowed brightly as his Burst attack skill activated. He slashed left, right, did a spinning slash and finished it off with a side slash, forming a square. Vertical Square was the skill, and it had done enough damage to bring its second bar into the red. The Golem through a punch with its remaining arm and he dodged to the side.

"Switch in." he cried. Ashley ran forward, delivering another slash to its core. The Bleed Status appeared above the creatures HP bar, and blood started dripping from the creatures core. It's second HP bar disappeared, and its third turned yellow.

Through repeated switching and sword skills, the two players brought the Golem to its knees. With a final double sword skill, the creature shattered into a millions little pixels, earning them the congratulation banner. Ashley was able to reach level 36, surprising herself quite a bit. Akira seemed a bit disappointed though, as he closed his menu.

"I leveled up, you?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it was only a single level. That's what I get for reaching Level 50 this early on."

"Level 50? Seriously, how the hell do you even reach that level?" she asked.

"It's not hard. Just kill things stronger than you. Anyway, lets go check out the spoils of war." he said with a chuckle as he approached the chest. Ashley shook her head and followed him along. He tried opening the chest, but it remained locked. He sighed.

"Whats wrong?" she asked.

"It's locked, that means I gotta pick it, but I don't have an lock picks on me. I feel like we just wasted our time." he said. She smiled.

"Well, it just so happens that I know how to pick locks." she said, opening her menu and pulling out a lock pick set.

"Why exactly?" he asked.

"When I was with my friends on the early floors, they needed someone to learn Lock Picking and Trap Disarming. So I volunteered to learn them." she said, inserting the lock pick and torsion tool into the lock.

"Interesting. Not many girls choose to do that, it further begs the question of why didn't you become a treasure hunter."

"To put it bluntly, I hate looking through ruins. It's not my style...I guess this was okay. Everyone needs adventure, but I personally can't see myself risking my life searching for treasure in unmapped dungeons...there we are." she said, hearing the audible click of the lock opening. She opened the chest, and the menu appeared before her. She smiled.

"I was right, it's all clothing and armor materials. Armor made from crystals must be some of the strongest on the middle floors, everyone will flip when they see this...wait...whats this?" she asked, glancing at her menu.

"What...some rare item?" Akira asked.

"No, it's an item called Crystalline Fragment. Let me materialize it." she said, clicking said button. A large red crystal appeared in her hand, it had a good weight to it too, but to her it wasn't of much use. Akira examined it, eyes narrowed.

"Seems like a synthesis material. You'll need a Master Blacksmith to see anything come out of that." he said. She sighed.

"Those are hard to find. I guess I'll just keep it for now. Well, as promised, you helped me find these materials, so now I will fulfill my promise and make you something awesome with them. Lets Teleport back to Magnolia, I'll get to work on this in the morning. You can crash at my place tonight." she said, pulling out a Teleport Crystal.

"Alright, thanks Ashley." he said with a smile. She looked back at him, a smile of her own on her face.

"My friends call me Ash, I'd like for you to do the same." she said. He nodded, and she held the crystal up.

"Teleport: Magnolia Town." with that, both of them disappeared.

 _(February 24_ _th_ _2023 2:45 PM: Location: Magnolia Town: 23_ _rd_ _Floor)_

It was early morning in Magnolia, and one of its residents was happily working in her shop. The doors opened, and she looked up from her work, seeing a few new faces looking at her armor.

"Hello, welcome to Ashley's, I'm the owner and maker of these wares...you may call me Ashley." she greeted.

"I'm looking some light armor, fast and dependable, but also stylish. Think you can make me something with these materials?" the person asked, opening their menu. They transferred the materials over and Ashley hummed to herself.

"I can make you something, but it won't be what you want...tell ya what, if you can find me some nice leather, or some wolf hides from the 24th floor or higher, I can make you the armor you want." she said. The teen nodded.

"Alright, there's a dungeon on the 25th floor with monsters that might drop what you need. I'll go fetch them.." he said, ducking out of the store.

"How much for this dress? I absolutely love it." the female player said, a smile on her face.

"That's usually 30,000 col, but since it goes perfectly with your eyes and hair color, its half off."

"Sweet, your the best Ashley, I'll definitely tell all my friends to come here." the girl said, paying the amount and adding the dress to her inventory. Ashley smiled and bowed politely.

"Thanks for visiting Ashley's...and remember, the more materials you collect, the better clothes I can make." she said. The girl happily left, barely dodging the person who was walking up to the counter. Ashley smiled.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. It's been how long now?"

"A few weeks. The front lines just found the boss to the 25th floor." he said.

"I heard. I know why your here, and I'm glad to say that it's come out just as beautiful as I imagined." she said, transferring the items over.

Akira opened his menu, taking off his current gear, much to the girl's dismay. He slowly started putting on his new gear. He now wore black greaves, with hints of purple on the tops, as they folded down. He was wearing black pants, with a matching black belt. He wore a long sleeved lavender shirt, with a leather vest over it. Over that was an armor plate, that kept his chest well protected.

He had violet gauntlets, which kept his forearms well protected. It also had some thin armor plates over it. He finished the look off with a violet cloak, which reached down to just below his knees. It had golden ties to keep it secured around his neck. The hood was wide and had a bit of a point at the top, which featured an eagle spreading it's winds in a light white embroidery. On the hem of it was a golden outline with beautiful thread. Over all, it was a nice set of armor, perfect for someone who wanted to stay hidden.

"It's perfect Ash, I love it." he said.

"With all of the other items you gave me, I was able to not only increase its stats, but you'll also have slightly higher defense, evasiveness and agility. The gauntlets give you added dexterity, the greaves extend your movement speed and the cloak overall raises your Hiding skills. It also has a slight chance to cast Darkness on your enemies." she said.

"Perfect, how much do I owe you?" he asked. She shook her head.

"It's free of charge. I was thinking of charging you the usual price that I charge to my other customers, but without you, I wouldn't have customers. So it's free of charge, but it's a first time thing, you want new armor, you know my policy."

"Good materials makes better clothing, if you don't bring them in, then I won't make them. I got the policy loud and clear...I can't thank you enough Ash. I won't pay you, but at least let me give you a gift." he said, sending her an item. When she materialized it, her eyes widened when she saw that it was a great sword. She barely caught it before it hit the floor.

"Damn, I wasn't expecting this." she said.

The sword itself was wide at the base, but as its length continued, it became thinner and thinner until it ended with a point. It was a light red color, and seemed to be made of crystal. It was sharpened to an edge, and with a good swing, it could slice a person in half with a single hit. The hilt was black, with light red laces wrapped around it, the pommel had a bright jewel on it.

"It's called the Crystal Destruction. I made it from that crystal you found. Well, I had to find a blacksmith with good skills to not ruin it."

"You seriously made me a sword? Don't you know that you could have very well made yourself a weapon?"

"I could have, but that's not how I roll...you helped me out so its my duty to help you out. For now, your store is getting a lot of business, who knows? Maybe you could move your store once the higher floors are cleared."

"Perhaps...I might think about it. I'm sure your busy so I won't keep you anymore...but...would you..I dunno..drop by for some tea some time?" she asked, setting her sword down. He furrowed his brows a bit, but his usual frown turned into a smile.

"Sure Ash. I don't mind dropping by for some tea, must be lonely here."

"Eh, I get tons of customers a day, so I'm never truly alone. Anyways, off with you, you have to go help the assault team clear the boss rooms."

"Yeah yeah, see ya later Ash, good luck and don't swindle anyone."

"Ha, I'd never think of swindling anyone." she said proudly. The bell rung as he opened the door, and soon he was out of sight.

Xxx

"Ooh, so not only do you want to date Silica, but now you have Ashley too?" Rain asked curiously, making the boy laugh.

"Me and Ashley? You're too funny you know. That girl can be a real narcissist when she wants to be. But I have to agree, she has a good fashion sense, and she was responsible for the best player made armor in the game." he replied.

The two of them had left the caverns, and were heading toward Tolbana, rather than the Town of Beginnings. Akira figured fighting stronger monsters would get the two of them some decent Experience and ready them for the first floor boss raid.

"So, Floor 25 was ready to be cleared. If I remember correctly, the forums spoke about the Mile stone floors. This would be the first one where the Assault Team would have trouble right?" she asked.

"Mhmm...the Aincrad Liberation Army lost half of their members to the boss. Cerberus the Underworld Guard. A three headed dog that had the ability to jump into lava pits, it was also a self learning AI, so it memorized the previous right and attacked differently. Thankfully, it was defeated with the help of yours truly." he said, a grin on his face.

"You defeated the boss? No way, I don't believe it." she said in a teasing tone.

"Well I did Miss Rain, but that's a story for another time. We've reached Tolbana, and I got a message from my friends." he said. Her smile turned into a frown.

"You have to go then?" she asked.

"Sorry, I promised we would party up together. You can come with, meet Sapphira and the rest of them." he said.

"Uh...no it's alright...I wanna get started on the crafting, we got all of those materials after all." she said, clamming up a bit.

"Oh uh...alright. Do you wanna meet up sometime? Like I said I'll give you my information and we can talk IRL." he said.

"Sure, I don't have school or anything since it's summer break. How about we meet up at your place tomorrow?" she asked.

"Of course, I'll text you later." he said, dissolving the party. He took off into Tolbana, leaving a distraught Rain behind. She frowned, looking at the grass.

"Hey, there she is." a familiar voice cried out. She turned around, meeting eyes with her friend Asuna, who had just logged into the game not long ago. She noticed Kirito and Klein were with her as well as their daughter Yui.

"Hi Asuna, we're you looking for me?" she asked curiously.

"Of course, you disappeared from the map for awhile so I got worried."

"This isn't SAO remember? I was just doing a quest. Me and a friend beat one of the Mid Level Bosses, and I managed to score the last of the data for the Raid." she said.

"Sorry, force of habit. It wasn't that long ago that all of us were stuck in that death trap. So, who was she? Do we know her?" the blue haired girl asked curiously.

"Why do you automatically assume it's a girl?" Rain asked, crossing her arms.

"Oh, could it be that you're seducing a guy with your cute looks? I didn't think that was something you did Nijika-chan." Klein said, wrapping his arm around her.

"Stop it Ryoutaro, I thought we agreed no IRL names in the game." she snapped, elbowing the Salamander in the gut.

"Now now, let's not all kill Klein, how about we check that data out?" Kirito asked, earning a nod from the redhead. Rain smiled brightly, if only Akira knew her secret, he would probably be amazed, that or extremely annoyed.


	7. Aincrad Interlude: The Real World

**A/N: Well guys, here's Chapter 7. This happens to be an original chapter taking place in the real world. We will also get introduced to the major antagonist of the story, one that's been terrorizing Akira since his days in SAO. it will be awhile until he's defeated. I'm actually working on an original arc which happens to be a Grand Quest. Honestly SAO would have been better if Kirito went on a Grand Quest. It would have been way better if he got Dual Blades that way, instead of it just popping up in his Skill List. Imagine him going through all of the hardships and bullshit stuff alone all for the sake of a unique skill, it would have been really cool and it would have given Kirito's already dull character some much needed characterization. I mean come on, no player alive can solo a Grand Quest especially in an MMO, well...unless your Lady Vert that is.**

 **Anyway, here's chapter 7, hope you like it...Also, a cookie goes to the person who can spot the reference in this chapter...  
**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 7

The Real World

Akira blinked a few times as he regained consciousness. The room felt a little cold, so he figured his mother must have turned on his AC. He sat up and took off his AmuSphere, setting it on the pillow next to him. He climbed into his chair and moved toward his computer. He opened up a web browser and quickly went to his email account.

"Okay let's see, I'll just type in the address Rain gave me and send her a message." he said, quickly writing down all of his information.

As if by habit, he ended up typing Akira instead of his actual name. Thinking about it for a second, he decided to hit send anyway. He was known by Akira for a long time, so it didn't matter to him how his friends addressed him.

Hearing the clicking of keys, his mother walked into the room, a laundry basket in her hands.

"Well isn't this a surprise. Getting started on homework?" she asked.

"As if, I won't be going to school until the fall remember? By the way, when's my surgery again?" he asked.

"Next week, why?" she asked.

"No reason...say, I'm gonna have a friend over tomorrow, that's cool right?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Definitely, oh my...it's been so long since someone actually came to our house. What should I make? What should I wear?" she asked, almost dropping the basket.

"Mom, their hanging out with me not you." he deadpanned.

"I know sweetie, it's just...I'm so happy to see you interacting with real people. That's not to say your gaming buddies aren't real, I mean you haven't even met them in real life."

"Yes I have, I met up with Kirito and Asuna right after Sword Art Online ended, remember? We had to free Asuna from ALO." he said.

"Oh right that...don't tell your father about that. You don't know how hard it is to keep him away from gaming sites and forums." he said.

"Don't worry, no one knows what truly happened in there. Two years in one game and two months in another, I feel so bad for her." he said, a frown on his face.

"Yes, but by the way you made it seem, this Asuna girl is far stronger than anyone of us. Well, stronger than most of the six thousand people that lived through Sword Art Online." she said.

"Jeez, you haven't been watching my stream again have you? I can't believe I forgot about that stuff." he said.

"No, I haven't been watching it, honest! But maybe you shouldn't have turned off your Ethics Code that one time on Floor 45."

"MOM!" he shouted, causing the woman to laugh. She quickly left the room, avoiding all of the socks the boy was throwing at her.

Yes one of the biggest blunders he had made was forgetting the fact that he had set his Nerve Gear to live stream his time in SAO. Thankfully, after a year and a half, Twitch managed to shut down his account, but that didn't stop people from seeing all the so called Horrors of SAO.

Thoughts of his red haired friend drifted into his mind. She would probably laugh her ass off, especially knowing that he had streamed half of his time in SAO. More so, parts that involved him without his Ethics Code turned on. That also reminded him of the person he had lost while in the game.

He shook his head, slapping his cheeks.

"It's not the time to be sad. Right now, it's the time to act!" he said firmly. His stomach growled loudly, making him stop in his tracks. He sighed, looking at the clock.

"Sometimes I miss being force fed from a tube." he said, wheeling himself out of his room.

At the same time, a young gray haired girl was waking up from her time in ALO. She sat up in her bed, taking off the AmuSphere off her head. She stretched her limbs yawning a bit as she stood up, fixing her sundress. She glanced around her room, seeing all of her little knick-knacks and collectibles, along with her PC. She walked over to the computer, bringing it out of it's sleep mode.

"Hey Mom, could you come here a sec?" she called out, hopefully attracting her mother's attention. Once she was logged on, she opened up a web browser, clicking on the tab that would take her to her email.

"Something wrong Nijika?"

The girl looked over her shoulder, staring right at her mother. The woman was around thirty eight years old, with short grayish brown hair and bright amber colored eyes. She was wearing a plain tee shirt, with pink hearts on it, along with a pair of yoga pants. The girl gave her mother a smile.

During her time in SAO, her mother had been one of the only people in her thoughts. They lived alone in Japan, so no one else would worry about them. She figured her father would come down from Russia to see if she was fine, but he only visited a few times as he was busy with business. Her sister Nanairo didn't even know she existed, mostly because she was too small to remember her. After awhile, she had decided to leave the Town of Beginnings and level up. Not doing anything would only drive her mad. But the only reason why she actually left was because of the rumors drifting through the first and second floors. The rumors of a murderer among the players.

She had wanted to meet the man who had killed another player. She didn't know what compelled her to do so, but she had to meet him. Anyone who would dare kill another person knowing the consequences didn't deserve to live. But as time went on, she started gaining more knowledge on him. Eventually, she ended up maxing out her Listening, Hiding and Tracking Skills, just so she could shadow him and not be seen.

There had been times where she had almost gotten caught, but the boy never found her. Even when he did get close to finding her, she would always teleport away, never leaving a trail. The boy eventually left the area, allowing her to follow him back to town and start all over.

She didn't know when she had started caring for him, perhaps after the accident on Algade, the 50th floor. That single event had changed his life for the rest of Sword Art Online, and she wanted to hear his side of the story.

Her mother cleared her throat, pulling her out of her musings. Nijika blushed a bit, shaking herself back to reality. She stood up straight, brushing the wrinkles from her dress.

"One of my friends invited me over to their place. Would you mind taking me there?" she asked politely. The woman giggled, rolling her eyes.

"Sure, you don't have to be so polite dear. I don't mind if you visit friends...so who is it? Is it that Kirito boy you're in love with?" she asked.

"No, I'm not in love with Kirito, besides he's married and has a daughter remember?" she asked.

"Ah yes, I remember you telling me about their little AI daughter, I just wish I could meet her. I wanna pinch her cheeks." she said, causing the girl to groan.

"Uh anyway, do you know where this area is?" she asked, typing the address on her Map Application. She turned the screen to the woman, who's eyes widened a bit.

"This is, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Ikebukuro...just who is this person?" she asked curiously.

"He's...someone special?"

"Oh, so it is a boy...now I'm curious...I want to see who has my little girl smitten!" she said happily.

"Mom, I'm not smitten...who even says that anymore?"

"I do, now if you want to impress this boy you'll have to find yourself a nice dress to wear. You're seventeen so I'm sure he's already aware of your assets. And while I normally wouldn't be fond of anything with a low collar, I don't mind if you buy any low cut dresses." she said.

"MOM!" Nijika cried, a fierce blush on her face. The woman giggled, shaking her head.

"Come on, I'll take you to the mall in Akihabara and get you some new clothes...you don't work today right?"

"No, I'm off for the next week. I needed some time away from the cafe, there's this one boy who comes in with a cat all the time and it's really weird. He just orders the same thing all the time, something tells me he has the hots for Clara, one of our klutzy maids." she said. She grabbed a pair of white stockings and sat down, slipping them onto her legs.

"Are cats even allowed in the cafe?" the woman asked curiously.

"No, but the boss doesn't mind since he pays a lot. I'm convinced he talks to it, I see them just sitting there and cracking jokes. You believe me right mom?" she asked.

"Nijika sweetie, I think you've been playing too many VRMMOs." she said, leaving the room. The girl sighed, grabbing her boots.

"Of course you don't believe me. No one does, but I swear that cat talks, and I'll prove it one day." she said firmly.

Xxx

"So son, your mother tells me you're having a friend over."

Akira groaned, glaring at his mother who was taking a bite from her steak. Since they were all originally from America, she often times cooked American meals. Tonight was some Beef steaks with Rice and Beans on the side. She was growling a bit, trying to bite a chunk from it.

"Mom, that thing is dead just cut it with a knife." his older sister Alisha said, leaning in her seat. She was his mother's spitting image, down to the hair color. Often times, people would confuse the much younger Alisha for their mother Alice, but she tended to ignore them.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry for some reason." she said.

"Christ you aren't pregnant are you?" Akira asked, taking a sip from his drink.

"Son, what have I said about talking like that?" his father asked, glaring at him.

"Don't do it in traffic, I know." he said, brushing him off.

"So, what's this about little brother having friends?" Alisha asked, bringing the attention back to the boy.

"Yes, Noah was telling me all about this person earlier today. It's a girl." Alice said, earning a joyous laugh from the man.

"I'm proud of you son. Where did you meet her?"

"I met her in ALO, I'm actually telling her about my life in Sword Art Online." he admitted.

"Seriously, you opened up to a girl you've never met? What if it's a dude playing as a girl?" Alisha asked.

"First off, Yvir fixed it so men can't pick the girl avatars. After what happened in SAO, I doubt guys would want to play as girls, especially that one guy who wore a skirt most of the time." he replied.

"Well...as long as she isn't after our money, I'm fine with you meeting each other."

"Dad, she doesn't even know how wealthy we are. She's like my other friends from SAO, but she's...special." he said.

"Might I hear why?" Alice asked, a smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry mom, but I'm not telling you that. Not in a million years, though maybe if you help me beat Fafnir I might reconsider." he said.

"Fafnir, you're insane. I haven't even beaten that quest to find Loki's minions yet." the woman replied.

"What are you two talking about...wait a minute, Alice...don't tell me you bought yourself that silly helmet." his father asked, glancing over at the woman, who had returned to eating her food, just to avoid speaking.

"I will not confirm nor deny your accusation dad." Akira said, finishing his dinner.

"Well, whatever the case if a girl is coming over, that means we have to tidy up the house. She might even become little bro's future wife!" Alisha said, snorting a bit.

"Don't you have a test tomorrow?" he asked.

"Oh shit, thanks for reminding me. I'll finish this in my room, sorry to bail on you!" she said, grabbing her plate and taking it with her. Akira chuckled, shaking his head.

"I still can't believe she got accepted into Nursing school...I'm just glad she's back in Japan...for however long that'll be." he said, a frown on his face.

"Which is why you should spent a little time away from that game. Enjoy the real world for a bit." his father said.

"I would but...dad, I can walk in that game. I can run, I can fly...I can do so much more than what I can do here. I can't go that far in the real world, not without my arms growing tired." he said with a frown.

"Maybe you two could just play ALO together. After all, if Alisha gets herself an AmuSphere, she can just log in on her spare time and play a game." Alice said.

"That...isn't a bad idea...I'll talk to her." he said, pushing himself away from the table. Thankfully all of the rooms were on the bottom floor so he didn't have to climb the stairs.

"You know, I would be a bit upset that Noah is spending too much time in that game. But after those two years, I think it was good for him, in a way."

"I agree with you Byakuya. Even though he was surrounded by death all the time, Sword Art Online gave him a second chance at life, and even now with Alfheim, he's enjoying himself. Maybe that girl that's coming over is the best thing for him right now." Alice said.

"Maybe, she better be cute, or I'll be really disappointed in him." the man said, taking a sip of his beer. Alice chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"Hey big sis, are you busy?" Akira asked, as he stopped next to the door of the girl's room. She looked up from her books, shaking her head.

"I need a break, come in." she said, gesturing for him to enter the room. He stopped at the center of the room, glancing around the walls, seeing a few of the posters of famous rock bands from the past had been packed away again. He frowned, glancing back at Alisha.

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Two weeks, don't worry, I planned to stick around until after your surgery. I'll be your personal nurse." she said, giving him a wink.

"Thanks but I'd rather not die." he said, causing her to laugh, snorting as she did. She grabbed her hair brush and started brushing her long black hair, making sure it was free of knots.

"I won't let you die, I know how IV fluids work. Maybe I can sneak you some morphine while I'm at it." she said.

"No thanks, I don't want to be drugged up beyond belief while I'm here. Anyway, I uh...have a proposal for you. Mom suggested we spend time together in ALO. I know you don't like that FullDive stuff since SAO but...I think it would be good. That way whenever you're free from classes, we can log in and spend time together." he said.

"Hmm...while normally I wouldn't be interested in that stuff, I have to admit it does sound interesting. And I was a little jealous of you, Sword Art Online was the biggest thing in the world. I sort of wanted to be there." she said.

"Trust me, no you didn't. Sword Art Online may have looked pretty, but it was nothing more than a death trap. Even now that New Aincrad was added to ALO, I still have issues being back there. Today was the first time I actually had the balls to head back into the Town of Beginnings. Hey, maybe we can clear the game together."

"All 100 floors?" she asked.

"Hell yeah, it'll be hard but we can definitely do it. Maybe we can join the raid and OHKO Illfang by the time you leave for California."

"Well, I guess that'll be alright. Test first though, if I don't pass this I can't get my certification." she said.

"Alright, this is gonna be fun! Maybe me and Rain can party up and show you the ropes." he said happily.

"Rain, she that girl you met in ALO?" Alisha asked.

"Oh yeah, that's her avatar name. You know, I didn't bother asking her what her name is...then again I never bothered telling her mine."

"Ugh, you are so hopeless Noah." she said, tying her hair up in a ponytail.

"I am not!" he cried.

"Yes you are, but I am looking forward to seeing this girl tomorrow. She better be cute, or I'll be really pissed."

"She is, but that stuff doesn't matter. We're most likely going to play Pokemon or something, that reminds me, do you think you could help me set up those retro consoles in my room?" he asked.

"Sure, but I'm not pushing you." she said, standing up from her seat.

Xxx

"So Nijika, what exactly are you and that boy Akira doing?"

"I'm not sure mom...I was going to bring some Pokemon games to play. He told me he likes the classics...or do you think I should bring my AmuSphere so we can play ALO?"

"Maybe, but I think you two should spend time together outside of that game." she said.

"Yeah but...mom he can't walk...he told me he was in an accident before SAO started." Nijika said, getting a surprised look from her mother.

"Oh dear, I wasn't aware of that. That poor boy...is he doing okay?"

"You mean mentally? I think he is...you should have seen him mom. He was so depressed when I ran into him. He was scared, scared of being back in Aincrad...I just had to help him. I wanted to hold him and never let him go."

"Nijika...how long have you known this boy?" the woman asked, glancing at her daughter from the rear view mirror.

"Um...I met him personally today...but I've known about him for two and a half years." she said.

"You mean...you spent most of your time in SAO following him around?" she asked.

"Essentially?"

"Nijika, we have to talk sweetie...you just can't stalk someone like that...I don't want you to grow obsessed over him."

"I am not obsessed mother. I just...feel bad for him...he was labeled as a murderer on the Second Floor, all because of that fat ass Ralph, not only that. He lost someone close to him inside that game. I know I can't replace them but...I just want him to talk about his problems so that I can help him." she said firmly, a look of determination in her eyes.

"You want to be an idol yet you have the makings of a Psychiatrist. Maybe you should think about your career paths a little bit more." her mother replied.

"Momma, Nanairo is already a Doctor...I don't want to be a Psychiatrist." she gray haired girl said, crossing her arms.

"Jeez, it's just a thought. We're almost at the mall, do you have an idea on what you want?" she asked.

"No, but I'll look around. I saw some cute dresses last time I was here." she said happily.

"Hey, are you going to tell him the real reason why you decided to play ALO?" her mother asked, catching her attention. Nijika frowned, glancing out the window. Ironically enough, the electronic billboard was displaying an interview with the famous Doctor Rainbow, her own little sister.

"I might...I don't think he needs to know that stuff though. He'd probably grow disinterested." she admitted.

"Oh sweetie...I doubt he would. He sounds like a nice boy...let's just talk about something else...you know what, I'm paying for a spa day, my little girl needs to look her best when she meets this boy."

"Mom, we're just friends." she cried out, a blush on her cheeks.

"Sure, you say that now...but it won't be long until you declare your love for him."

"Ugh...maybe I should have just taken a train instead." she huffed, lowering her gaze. Thankfully her hair was long enough to hide her rosy cheeks from her teasing mother.

Xxx

"Well, there you are...man I haven't seen some of these things since I was a kid, I really liked the Playstation 2." Alisha said, taking a seat at Akira's computer chair. The boy was sitting on his bed, glancing at his phone.

"That thing is ancient, but I do agree. For the year 2000, that system had the best graphics. I don't know why, but I love the original Xbox, something about that damn start up sound always gets me." he admitted.

"But we can all agree, if you wanted to have a party, the Gamecube was where it was at."

"True that." the boy agreed. His phone beeped, attracting his attention to it. His eyes widened a bit when he read the message.

" _Log into ALO right now, we need to talk." -Hayato._

"Hey, thanks a lot for the help sis, I appreciate it. One of my friends asked me to log in real quick, something about a quest." he said, grabbing his AmuSphere.

"Yeah yeah, I decided to take your advice. First thing in the morning I'm heading to the game store and grabbing myself some VR stuff. Do you recommend any other games aside from ALO?" she asked.

"Uh...I hear there's a beta coming out for a new American game called Gun Gale Online, I'm trying to score a spot in the Japanese beta but so far, I haven't head back from anyone. Figured my extended resume as one of the Front Liners in SAO would have been enough."

"Well, I guess I'll have to check it out. If it's an American game, that means it most likely came out over seas. I'll try it out and let you know how it is. See ya in the morning, have fun." she said.

"Yeah...goodnight sis." he said, placing the headset on. He laid back, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Link Start!"

xxx

 _(Town of Beginnings Floor 1, 8:25 AST)_

Akira blinked a few times as he found himself at the teleporter in the center of the Town of Beginnings. Even though it was late, people were still walking around, enjoying the atmosphere Aincrad provided. He was glad to see players smiling for once, rather than seeing them all filled with worry.

Aincrad was a beautiful place, and hopefully new players could come and enjoy that. His time in SAO may have been over, but that didn't mean things from his past still didn't haunt him. He stepped off the teleporter, shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way toward the southern exit.

Once he had passed the walls, he walked up the path following the marker he had set. It wasn't long before he came to the edge of the map, where another young man was standing.

He looked to be a few years older than him, but in reality, Akira and him were about the same age. His avatar had crimson colored hair, a trait that belonged to the Salamanders. He was wearing some heavy set crimson armor, a two handed axe strapped to his back. He looked up from the ground, a sneer on his face.

"Took you long enough to show up." he said.

"Sorry, I was setting some stuff up in my room and..."

"I don't give a shit. You know what I'm here for." the boy snapped. Akira grit his teeth.

"Hayato, come on man. Can't we all just move on from this? It's been so long since we cleared SAO." he said.

"Need I remind you what happened to my cousin while in that death trap? You let her die, and now you have to pay for that with your items for the rest of your time in ALO." the boy said, grabbing a hold of Akira's cloak.

"Stop it! She wouldn't want this, all of us were in that game together. None of us knew what the Floor 50 Boss was going to be like!" Akira cried angrily.

"I don't give a shit, she was the stronger of us two. Keisha already paid the price on the Seventh Floor, we were going to get out together. But you destroyed that chance! You promised to keep her alive, but you failed. So fork over your items, and your money." he said, pushing the boy to the ground.

Akira sighed and rose his hand, opening his menu. He opened the trade request menu and started placing all of his items into it. He had more in his storage of course, but Hayato didn't need to know that. His eyes fell on the sword Rain had given him. It was called Dawn of Steel, a sword that rose his STR, AGI and EVI stats by three and had a low chance to Stun the enemy. He paused, hitting the send button.

"That's the stuff...wait..this is the sword you had equipped two days ago...that means you got a stronger one. I want that!" Hayato said.

"Dude, I'm not giving you my sword. I wouldn't have anything to fight with, and I'm not giving you my armor either." Akira said, pulling himself to his feet.

"Tch...whatever, this stuff is more than enough for now. But remember, cross me again, and I'll humiliate you in front of your friends. You aren't the Violet Assassin anymore. The biggest mistake you made was starting this game at Level One after leaving SAO."

"And you think Lording your stats over me is going to make a difference? Level doesn't mean shit in ALO. It all comes down to skill and your own abilities. I became the one of the top swordsmen in the game, so don't take me lightly. Now get the fuck out of Aincrad before I toss your ass over myself!" he cried back.

"Oh...you'll pay for that one Akira, don't you worry...I'll get you for that." the man said, jumping off the edge. He shot into the sky a second later, most likely returning to the Salamander Nation.

"Goddamn it!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the side of the wall. He felt anger coursing through him as he grit his teeth. He glanced up at the sky, seeing the bottom of the second floor.

"I need to get my pent up anger out somehow." he muttered to himself. His eyes widened a bit and he opened his menu, checking the map data for the First Floor. He grinned to himself when he saw what he wanted. Without wasting a single second, he shot off into the sky, disappearing into the night.

Landing in Tolbana, he quickly went to the teleporter and opened up his storage. He pulled out all of his healing items and SP potions, knowing he would need them for what he was going to attempt. He grabbed his spare Nightfall Blade, equipping it into his pallet. Both it and Dawn of Steel appeared around his waist, rather than on his back. He looked at the handle for the dark blade, remembering the first time he had it.

"I found that blade by pure luck. A rare boss drop for players that weren't from Japan. Kayaba, how the hell did you even know I wasn't of Japanese origin? Maybe my email account." he muttered to himself. Once he was ready, he left Tolbana, heading toward the base of the pillar.

He didn't know how long it had been, but he had finally made it to the Boss room. Twenty three floors had been wiped clean of any monster in the area. He had easily grown in level, going from 12 to 15, but to him level didn't matter anymore. This wasn't SAO. He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open, walking into the boss room.

Memories flooded into his mind. Diavel, all of the Squads, the players that took on Illfang. He could see it all in front of him. The first floor boss, the place where he almost died. Illfang's grin burned into his mind, making him angrier than before.

"Hayato...I swear to god I'm going to defeat you one day. Ever since you logged into ALO, you've been tormenting me. My friends don't know about this, but if they did your life in this game would be over. I'm not letting them do that, you are my enemy, and It's my duty to beat you." he said, glancing into the room. He had half a mind to go in after Illfang, but he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against him. So instead, he teleported out of the boss room.

Xxx

"Alright Nijika, do you have everything?"

"Yes mother, I'm fine."

"Oh, you look so cute. This boy is going to be head over heels for you." she cried.

Nijika sighed, shaking her head. Her mother was right though, she did look pretty cute.

She had picked up a lavender colored dress, with a diamond design to it. It was a bit low cut, and the straps were a darker shade of purple. The dress reached down to her knees, and had a ruffled hem. She was wearing a pair of black tights, something she insisted on wearing as she felt more comfortable that way. She was also wearing a pair of heeled boots that she had got on sale. Her hair was down like normal, but she was wearing a bonnet, which was a frilly white color with black lacing on it. She had her purse in her hands, as well as another bag, which held her laptop and her AmuSphere.

Another thing she wasn't expecting when she arrived at Ikebukuro was how big Akira's house was. It wasn't a mansion, but it wasn't a modest house either. It was a really beautiful place, the size of an apartment complex. It had an iron fence around it, with a rather large gate near the front. The grass had been recently cut, filling the air with the scent of freshly cut grass, something that Nijika liked quite a lot. She felt her mother place a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be nervous. Remember how you were when you met Kirito and Asuna for the first time?"

"Yeah but, it was different. They were in the same hospital as me, so it was unavoidable. Even after what happened on floor 75." she replied.

"I know but...just stay calm...pretend your meeting up with your other friends. That should help you out."

"Thanks mom, I'll call you when I'm ready to go home, if not I can just take a train back." she said.

"Alright, be safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do." she said.

"Yes mom." the girl said, walking toward the gates. Her mother watched her go, a proud smile on her face.

"She's growing up so fast. Even I can tell she's totally in love with that boy...he better appreciate her." she said to herself, getting back in her car.

Nijika took a deep breath, ringing the bell on the side of the gate. She shook nervously, biting back a bitter laugh. Here was a girl that had gotten past the worst event imaginable, actually made it to Level 95 and cleared floor bosses with ease. Yet she was scared of meeting a person in real life. SAO had taught her to be more trusting of her fellow players. Meeting someone and asking them to party up was second nature, so why was she so nervous?

"Excuse me Miss, may I help you?"

It was a woman, not much older than she was, most likely in her early twenties. She had long black hair, and was wearing a light colored tee shirt, with very short shorts. She was also wearing a pair of flip-flops. From her attitude, Nijika could just tell she was American. The girl's lazy look changed to one of surprise, and then a smile worked its way onto her face.

"You must be Rain, my brother's girlfriend, right?"

"Huh? What?" she asked.

"You are so cute! Look at you, man my brother sure knows how to pick them. Come on in, I'll take you to his room." she said, opening the gate.

"Um...thank you but...we're not dating. We're just friends." she said.

"Sure you are kiddo...maybe I should start calling you Little Sis from now on." the girl said, leading her toward the house.

"No no, please don't do that. My name is Nijika, you can call me that instead of Rain. That's just my avatar name." the girl admitted.

"I'm Alisha, Noah's big sister...well you would know him by Akira wouldn't you?"

"Yes, he never told me what his name was. Noah...that's not a bad name." Nijika replied.

"Hey Mom! You're daughter-in-law is here, get the snacks ready!" Alisha cried out, as soon as they entered the house.

"Oh she is, I want to meet her!" another voice cried out. Nijika blushed brightly, lowering her gaze. Her face felt hot and she just wanted to run away as far as possible. She didn't handle teasing well.

From the top of the stairs came out another woman, who she assumed was Alisha's mother. She stopped in front of her, giving her a warm smile.

"Aw, aren't you a cutie. My son is definitely going to be happy that you came. You know, he hasn't had a friend over since before the SAO incident." she said.

"Really? Why is that?" Nijika asked, gaining a sudden interest.

"Noah is...well, he values friendship quite a bit. He had plenty of friends but...as it turned out most of them were his friends for his money instead of him. Once he had left the hospital after his accident, he tried hanging out with a few of them, but none of them ever showed up. Even his girlfriend broke up with him, saying he was useless in a wheel chair."

"That little bitch, she's lucky to have moved to Okinawa." Alisha muttered angrily.

"Is...that why he got Sword Art Online, so he could leave the real world?" Nijika asked.

"Yes, he had been interested in it mildly at first. But after the first reviews started streaming in, along with some gameplay, he knew he just had to have it. A game where everything was rendered in full three dimensional environments? It was too much for him to pass up. None of us knew what a mistake that would be."

"When I heard about it all, I just wanted to die. I was fresh out of high school, and had gone home for college. It was horrible, especially watching it all unfold on the news. Hearing the names of the ones that had died, it was just...I don't want to remember that." Alisha admitted.

"But Noah was strong, he powered through it all and made it to the end game. That's not to say it was easy but...sometimes I wonder just what he truly faced there. I watched as much of his stream as I could, but there were things that didn't record."

"He streamed it?" Nijika asked, eyes widened in shock.

"Over an entire year of it. It was how the doctors were keeping an eye on him. He wasn't the only one who streamed it either, but after awhile, the website just shut down the stream entirely."

"Oh Akira...I didn't know any of this." the girl said softly. Alisha smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, I know I teased you a lot a few minutes ago, but I think right now, you're the best thing for my brother. He hasn't opened up to anyone before. Only those who are his brothers in arms can know what happened in that game. The sole fact that he trusts you enough to tell you his story, it really amazes me. I can tell that you love him, just be patient with him, alright?" she said.

"Huh? Okay." she said softly.

"Come on, I'll take you to his room. I think he's logged into ALO right now, he didn't come down for breakfast."

"Really? That doesn't sound like him, he loves eating." Alisha said, looking at her mother.

"Yes but...you know how he is with games. He probably went after Fafnir all on his own. That silly boy." Alice replied.

"Well...he said something about logging on to talk to one of his friends...just follow me Nijika. Oh and don't worry about your shoes, we're used to walking around the house with them." the girl said, urging the girl to follow.

Just like Alice had said, Noah was logged into ALO, the AmuSphere's lights were blinking rapidly, and he was panting a bit, most likely being in a battle. Nijika took a look around, amazed at all of the retro games and more modern games. Alisha walked over to his side, kneeling next to his ear.

"Hey idiot, log out you're girlfriend is here!" she said.

"Alisha-chan, please don't say that stuff!" Nijika cried, earning a giggle from her.

"Don't worry, that should have brought his attention. Maybe you can log in and drag his ass out, I'm going to be in my room setting up my own account. He convinced me into playing, so I hope you can help me level up before I leave in a few weeks."

"Okay, I don't mind at all." the girl said, pulling her laptop from her bag. She grabbed her AmuSphere from her bag, and plugged everything up, setting her computer on the desk next to her. She placed the headset on, taking a seat on the gaming chair.

"Wait for me Akira-kun, I don't want you to get all the good drops. Link Start!"

xxx

Akira sighed, a frown on his face as his swinging slowed down to a stop. He didn't feel like doing much of anything. After what had happened the night before, he didn't really feel like doing anything. He knew his trip to the Boss Room had been a waste of consumables, but at the moment he didn't really care.

He heard foot steps and looked up, seeing a rather familiar face in front of him. The girl narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. Her long green tresses fell down to her waist. She was wearing a bright green dress, with an iron chest plate over it. The skirt of it split down the side, revealing part of her leg. She was wearing a pair of black heeled boots, the straps of which wrapped around her leg. Strapped to her waist was a one handed long sword.

"Look at you, sitting there all depressed and shit. What's the matter?" she asked.

"Sapphira, I don't feel like talking right now." He said simply.

"I don't care, you wanna know why I logged in today? It wasn't because of the boss raid, nope. It was because Argo saw you solo the labyrinth. She was concerned for you and shot me a line, so what's up? What pissed you off enough for you to tackle that alone?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me, we spent two years together Akira, just explain to me in detail what happened." she said.

"I just...don't feel comfortable talking about it. You would probably get really pissed off at me." he admitted. She was about to say something when another person approached them, a familiar looking redhead.

"Akira there you are...I just got to your place." she said. His eyes widened.

"Oh shit, I forgot you were coming over...sorry Rain...I've been logged on since last night." he admitted.

"All night? Have you even slept?" Sapphira snapped angrily.

"Yeah, I rented an inn in Tolbana..the one that we stayed at the night before the boss raid. This brings back memories you know." he said. Rain looked between the two, clapping her hands with a starry look in her eye.

"No way, you're Sapphira? One of SAO's beta testers?" she asked.

"Uh...yeah...you know who I am?"

"Of course, all of the forums said you were one of the strongest players in the game, second to the Black Swordsman and the Lightning Flash of course." she said.

"Mwehehe, one of the strongest players huh? I'll admit, being this good in combat was something I prided myself in. Soloing Super Bosses can only take you so far." she said, glaring at Akira who just huffed and looked away.

"Goddamn it, I wish Panereze was unlocked, I miss my quiet little island!" he said angrily.

"Alright, what's up your ass Akira, fucking tell me or I swear to god I'll gank you as soon as you leave town."

"Okay fine, I'll tell you. I got my shit taken by Hayato!" he said. Sapphira grew silent, not really knowing how to react. Rain on the other hand looked at Akira in concern.

"You were robbed?"

"Yes, by a player named Hayato. He's cousins with one of my friends from SAO. Sasha." he said. Rain's eyes widened.

"The Greek Goddess...oh my god." she said, hands flying to her mouth. Sapphira grit her teeth, opening her menu.

"Where the fuck is he? I'm going to teach him not to fuck with my friends."

"Stop it Sapph, if you go after him he'll just take your stuff too. He works for Yvir now, so he has system control." he said.

"Wait, he's abusing his credentials to steal stuff from Akira? Why is that?" Rain asked.

"If I we're to guess, it's revenge for what happened in Aincrad. It's a long story that I don't plan on telling you right now. Sides I don't even know you." the green haired Sylph said.

"Why don't you tell a Game Master, or better yet why not tell the leader of your nation, don't they have the player information needed to stop him?" Rain asked.

"Hayato aligned himself with the Salamanders, meaning I would have to go to Mortimer, the leader to get that information. I tried going to the leader of the Imps but that guy is a total fuck off...I was hoping Sakuya would know what to do." he said.

"I'll see if I can get a hold of her. She might be with Rue though, so I don't know if she'll show up."

"She has too, there's a boss raid and I'm sure she won't miss that...I guess while we wait I can tell you the next part of my story." Akira said, looking at Rain.

"You don't have too, I know this is a trying time for you."

"No worries, whatever it takes to keep my mind off things...let's see...it starts off in Panereze I think, the day before the 25th Floor Boss raid."


	8. Aincrad Arc: Reunion

**A/N: Hey guys, today I bring you the next chapter of The Violet Assassin.**

 **In this chapter, we get to see Akira reunite with his friends from the first floor boss raid, as well as learn some information about the 25th Floor boss. The Floor boss is actually going to be different from what it is in the actual SAO story, because when I wrote this, I didn't know what the boss actually was. So if you have read The Secret Elite, you'll already know what it is.**

 **I hope I'm doing good with this story, I mean it isn't anything other than editing, fixing some mistakes and adding some new content. I'm actually working on a story arc for it right now, but I won't reveal any details. Tell me if you like it or not. I would like to thank the reviewers who actually bothered to say something, I appreciate your reviews quite a lot.**

 **I haven't decided if I'll be continuing onto Floor 100 or not. I'm really tempted too, but how set up the story, I have it so they left after Floor 75. Plus I was also going to start adding some stuff that would lead into Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale, which I haven't seen yet. I was also considering doing a cross over with Accel World, since I am rather interested in Millennium Twilight. Sort of a shame that it won't be a physical copy. I got not fucking internet so I can't play it, but fuck me right?**

 **So, without further stalling, here is Chapter 8, I hope you all like it.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 8

Reunion

 _(February 24_ _th_ _2023 4:25 PM: Location Big Oak Tree Panereze 24_ _th_ _Floor)_

The sun was starting to go down in Panereze, giving the sky a beautiful orange glow. The expansive lake also matched its glow, the waters were calm and crystal clear, enough to see several types of fish swimming about. The breeze was light, carrying the scent of blooming flowers and freshly tilled soil. The Twenty Fourth Floor was known to everyone that visited it as the calm island floor. The city of Panereze was located in the very center of the floor, and had soft green grass and short trees on it, the main settlement was a man made island, connected to several other islands by use of wooden bridges. Several houses dotted the outside circumference of the largest island.

On the northern most island located on north part of Panereze, a lone teenager slept, leaning back against the base of a tree. It was large, its thick roots running across the small inlet, heading towards its desired source of water. The trunk of it was thick, with high branches, all covered in verdant green leaves. All around the base of the tree grew some beautiful pink carnations, their velvety smell served to add to the serenity of the place. Since its discovery, this had been Akira's favorite place to forget about everything.

From the real world, to clearing all of the floors, to even all of the people calling him a murderer, he could just sit there and sleep his troubles away. The breeze picked up a bit, making him smile in his sleep. It was a great day to be alive.

"Hey Dumbass."

At least until that phrase was uttered. He groaned, praying to the gods above, and even Kayaba not to let this woman ruin his nap. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Sapphira jabbed her pointed boot into his side, making him jolt a bit.

"Wake up, this is serious. We got shit to do and your sitting here sleeping the day away." she cried.

"But it's a nice day...why would I waste my time leveling up or killing monsters when I can just come here and...sleep away the troubles." he said, not opening his eyes.

"Sleep away the...do you hear yourself? People can use the help up here. The 25th floor boss room was just located and the squad team that went to investigate it just vanished. Only three people were able to make it back alive. _Three_ people Akira." Sapphira said. Akira finally opened his eyes, glancing at the green haired girl, though at this moment, she looked like nothing but a green blur. His eyes focused, finally allowing him to fully gaze at her.

Since the start of the middle floor clearing, Sapphira had sold her old armor to a player from the lower floors. She had since then donned an ensemble she called the Lime Knight, even though it made her look nothing like a knight. She now wore a lime green short sleeved shirt, with see through sleeves, her shoulders were covered by lime green shoulder guards, which had a small cross on them. The shirt ended above the abdomen, leaving her naval exposed. She wore a lime green chest plate over her shirt, with chain mail underneath for extra protection. She wore a matching green skirt, with a golden hem. She had white stockings, connected to white and green garters that she wore on her thighs.

They were stuffed into black buckle boots, which had thick leather belts and silver buckles. They had thick low heels and pointed toes. She had a black belt attached to her waist at an angle, holding her item pouches and sword. On her hands, she had a pair of black fingerless gloves, with lime green armor plates over them, also emblazoned with the same cross. She also had a black cloak on, which kept her hidden while in town, over all, she looked like a mysterious swordsman, one you wouldn't want to mess with. And that's why Akira stood up, because even though he was at a higher level than her, he doubted he could actually win an argument with her.

"Sapphira, do you know the reason why I avoid boss battles?" he asked firmly. He stood a full two inches over her, face in its usual uninterested look. She sighed.

"Why?"

"Because every time I'm at one, I get shouted it at. You'd think that after weeks since the Second Floor boss meeting, everyone would move on, but you'd be surprised. Most of the remaining players know nothing about what happened there, but the ones that do, give me shit for it." he said.

"It was an accident." she said.

"You try telling them that. Oh wait, you can't...because your a Beater." he snapped.

"Alright, why are you being a dick all of a sudden? Is Nick still pissing you off or something?"

"No, he's been busy on the front lines this entire time. I haven't talked to anyone, other than Ashley who recently became my personal seamstress. I've been either leveling up, or sleeping here." he replied.

"Jeez, what level are you at now?" she asked.

"Sorry, you want that information, you gotta pay upfront for it." he said, a sneer on his face. He was glad he partied up with Argo whenever she needed help with her information gathering. This however seemed to annoyed Sapphira.

"Well whatever, we need you Akira. The front lines aren't doing well, especially with the ALS being so controlling over the whole thing, they haven't cleared a single floor. They always send their teams out to not only clear out the labyrinths, but to take whatever items they find...all in the name of the Aincrad Liberation Act. Pfft, my ass. I haven't had a good find in a labyrinth since I found my Kings Knight Sword." she said, almost to the point of tearing her virtual hair out.

"The Aincrad Liberation Army has been an issue since their formation. I heard they've started to monopolize the First Floor. Hell, that's driven half of the players living there to higher floors. Taft and Frieven seem to be the most popular choices on the lower floors. Higher level players are starting to settle Coral Village and Magnolia Town as well." he said, listing off the current favorable places in Aincrad.

"I hear tons of couples are starting to move in here in Panereze. However I heard rumors about the Northern Isle, the one almost no one went too because it was the resting place of a violet clad swordsman." she said.

"So that's how you found me here? Jeez, rumors sure fly fast around Aincrad. Whatever...if your done ranting, I can give you my answer about your request to take down the boss." he said.

"So it's a yes?" she asked, eyes sparkling and filled with hope.

"The answer is no." he said, heading toward the small wooden bridge that lead back to the main island. Each board sunk into the water as he stepped on them, soaking the bottom of his boots, luckily, they were air tight and water proof, so his feet didn't actually get wet.

"Why the hell not?" she asked firmly, following his footsteps. Sadly, due to the space on the bridge, she couldn't run in front of him.

"I don't really feel like going to the boss fight. I'd rather stay here and enjoy the scenery. Why the hell would I go there if I was gonna get yelled at and frowned upon?" he asked firmly.

"Look, from a stand point like that, I understand you. It sucks being a Beater, sometimes I get glares, fruits tossed at me, swore at. I mean hell I've been chased out of towns before. But after a while, and my rise in level, no one dared to mess with me. Especially when they saw me practically Solo the last floor boss. This armor is was the boss drop for that fight...me Asuna and Kirito carried that battle, if it weren't for us, hell we wouldn't have won. Shit, even Agil did more than the Army and all the other players combined, and that's saying a lot. If we had you, it would go much smoother." she said.

"I know it would. But I don't think I'm ready to partake in a boss battle yet. Sorry Sapph, I'll see ya later." he said, heading toward town. Sapphira sighed angrily, watching the purple clad teen walk off.

"Ugh, sometimes I don't get you Akira. You're the biggest most annoying bastard I've ever met." she shouted. The teen gave her a wave and kept walking undeterred from his walk.

Akira felt bad about denying his friend. It all stemmed back to after that duel on the Second Floor. He still got nightmares from it, seeing his sword slice Ralph in half every single time. There were times where he was at the losing end of that duel. He saw the red You are Dead hexagon appear in his line of sight, the last thing he'd hear would be the shattering of his avatar, and he was greeted with nothing but darkness. Then there was the coup de gras, the Floor Bosses. Sure, he hadn't faced most of them, but he had scouted some of the other boss rooms and seen them.

The Eighth Floor boss was a giant flaming serpent, that gave him the creeps for around a week, even after it had been defeated, he was always running away from it. Then there were times where he saw himself get killed by Illfang. Somehow through it all, he was able to find some time to sleep. It was why he loved the 24th floor so much, because he could honestly relax, and forget his troubles. He didn't need to start clearing floors again, he didn't need the stress. He didn't want to see anyone else die, not after Diavel, not after Ralph.

The sun had gone down at this point, and the four moons rose up, illuminating the entire floor. A few stars dotted the sides of the floor, and could be seen twinkling in the distance. A small haze formed over the water, giving it a sort of hollow vibe. It reminded him a bit about Silent Hill, and often times he dreamed about Pyramid Head coming out of the hazy darkness, wielding its giant sword. He shivered, hoping that wasn't a floor boss, he'd honestly find and murder Kayaba if he did program that.

He was leaning back against the outer wall of the inner city, watching a few people walking in or out of the city. Most were new players in the area, who didn't know of his actions on the second floor. They were either solo players looking for their friends, or sappy couples. A few of them were holding hands, others were kissing by the water, and others just plain making out behind some bushes. How they could forget about the fact this was a game was beyond him.

"Heh, at least they figured out how to turn off the Ethics Code." he muttered dryly.

Thankfully, he was pulled out of the sappy scenery by the blinking message alert. He tapped the button before him, opening the message window. It was a message from Asuna, and in English no less. At least she actually used the English keyboard, unlike a few people who loved to mess with him, mainly Argo. Non many people knew he was bilingual, due to how fluently he spoke Japanese. But he still had a hard time reading an understanding Hiragana and Kanji, and when Argo found out, she had decided to piss him off about it. He sighed, quickly skimming it.

" _Hey, it's been a while. Do you think we could meet up? I'm in a coffee shop in Taft. Please it's urgent."_

He blinked a few times, rereading the message. It was unlike Asuna to randomly message him. Sure, there were a few here and there, asking how he was or if he had seen Kirito recently, but she had never outright asked him to meet her somewhere. He looked at his wrist watch, seeing the time. He nodded to himself and sent a message back, saying he was on his way. He closed the window and headed off, passing through one of the gates leading into Panereze.

The city itself reminded him a bit about the Town of Beginnings, only it was way smaller. The houses were mostly made of either wood or brick, to fit in with the lakeside town theme. The ground was cobblestone, though most of the stone blocks were black, while others were sandstone or limestone. It gave the area its own feel to it. The central square had several small trees around it, each one being vibrant green, even though it was still winter. It seemed not all the floors followed the traditional seasonal calender.

The teleport gate was just like the rest, two large slabs of rock, sitting in the middle of town, with four large glowing crystals around it. There was a larger stone in the middle, with a metal plaque on it, saying the towns name. He stood in the center of the platform and looked up at the bottom of the 25th floor.

"Teleport: Taft."

A blue glow enveloped him as he felt himself be transported elsewhere. The city of Taft was still covered in snow. It was the largest city among the lower floors. It was where most people who wanted to start a guild went out and bought their first place. He walked briskly toward the biggest cafe in town. It was simply named Cafe, it wasn't very original, but its food wasn't that bad. It was one of the better ones in Aincrad. He only hoped the restaurants and food stands got better the higher up they went. He walked in, the jingling of the bell alerting the NPC waitress of a new customer.

She was a young woman, most likely in her early twenties, with long brown hair, tied into long twin tails with black ribbons. She was wearing a maid outfit, consisting of a black bodice and matching skirt, with a white frilly apron. She had white stockings and formal black shoes. She finished off the look with a black and white frilly bonnet. She smiled and bowed, clutching the menus in her hand.

"Welcome Master. How may I help you?" she asked.

"Um, I'm looking for a friend. Her name is Asuna, is she here?" he asked.

"Why yes. Your girlfriend is here, I'll take you to her table Master. Follow me." she said quite loudly, earning looks from everyone around them, NPC and Player alike. Akira blushed brightly as he walked behind the young woman.

Asuna was sitting alone at a corner booth, she had her eyes focused on the menu window in front of her. She was wearing white sleeveless shirt, with a thin leather vest over it. He saw a small armor piece underneath the vest, at least giving her some form of protection. She was wearing a brown skirt, with matching black leggings. She finished off her ensemble by wearing some matching brown boots, that had a slight heel to them. He stopped by the edge of the table, and the Waitress spoke up.

"Here you are. I hope you didn't keep her waiting long Master." she said. Asuna looked up, a smile on her face. She quickly closed her menu.

"Hello Akira. Thank you for bringing him here miss."

"Of course Mistress. Would you like the menus now?" she asked, as Akira took a seat.

"Sure thing, don't worry about payment Akira. I'll handle it, so have anything you like." she said.

"Um...alright I guess...I'll just have a chocolate smoothie, and some scones. That'll be it for me." he said.

"Right away Master, what about you Mistress?" she asked, glancing at Asuna.

"I'll just have the Royal Milk Tea." she said.

"Alright, for the smoothie, would you like a heart shaped straw or a regular one?" she asked.

"Miss uh...Chocola, we're not dating. A regular straw will be fine alright?" Akira asked politely.

"Right, you don't want anyone to find out. It's a secret...a regular straw in the Chocolate Smoothie, some Scones, and for the Mistress, Royal Milk Tea, alright, that'll be ready in a few minutes. I'll be right back Master and Mistress." she said with a wink before sauntering off. Asuna watched her go, before slowly turning to Akira.

"She thought we were dating?" she asked.

"I dunno...she's an NPC. Nothing we can so about that right?" he asked, leaning back into his seat.

"Yeah.. _right._.anyway...I called you here because I wanted to talk to you about something. It's about the Floor Boss." she said. Akira sighed, about to stand up.

"Wait...let me finish first. Please." she said, a sad look in her eyes. He took a deep breath and sat down, crossing his arms.

"I'm listening."

"Okay...the ALS and the clearing team decided to ban together to clear the 25th floor. We sent a scouting team of Ten People up there to check out the boss room, sadly none of them made it back. The second scout team found their swords laying all over the field. They caught a glance at the boss. It's called Cerberus, Guard of the Underworld Gate." she said.

"Hmm, that would make sense, considering the 25th floor and the main settlement Lava Stone Falls is located around an active Volcano. That entire floor is devoid of plant life, the only area that has any is the forest at the base of one of the mountains, and it's thick as hell. All of the soil is black and there's so much ash in the air, almost no one wants to be there. I was actually thinking the boss was a rock type monster of some sort, though a Cerberus? Maybe Kayaba knows what he's doing." he said, muttering the last part.

"The ones who came back from the second team told us all the information we needed, and we decided to do the boss raid today. We ended up loosing half of the Aincrad Liberation Army." she said sadly, looking at the floor. His eyes widened in shock, swallowing hard.

"H-half? You lost half of the ALS?" he asked, once in surprise and twice to clarify.

"Yes. They all went in there, ready to tackle the boss. But then the doors closed behind us. Cerberus has Seven HP bars, two of its heads attack in unison, always dishing out biting attacks. But once you lower it into the yellow, the Middle one becomes more active and twice as vicious as the other ones. That's when it starts diving into the lava pools that surround the field. Its super heated skin makes almost all blunt and slash attacks impossible. That's when we started loosing people. One after the other, they were just...slashed, bitten and torn apart.

We tried opening the doors, but they were sealed shut, that's when we resorted to using our crystals. We went in too early, we didn't plan...now the ALS has withdrawn from the front lines, and we lost forty players, eighty if you count the forty that died to the boss, along with a few players from the two guilds that were with us, and the solo players who tried their hardest to hold it off. We need help, we're asking all the strong solo players from the lower floors and asking them to help us. We can't get stuck now, not when we're a quarter of the way into the game." she said firmly.

"Here are your orders...one chocolate smoothie with scones on the side and one steaming cup of Royal Milk tea, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me Master, and you as well Mistress." Chocola said, placing their items on the table before them.

She gave them one last smile before walking off, most likely to attend to another customer. Akira sat there silently for a few minutes, just looking at the distraught Rapier wielder. She was nothing like this on the First Floor, when they first met after that boss battle. She seemed confident, happy to have been able to clear the first boss, to have done something that helped everyone. That girl and the one that sat in front of him now were two different people. He swallowed hard, reaching over the table to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll do it. I'll join the boss raid party and help you take down Cerberus." he said.

"You will?" she asked, looking up from the floor. He nodded, a small smile on her face.

"If I have to lay down my life so that my friends can make it past the 25th floor, then I'll gladly do it. Of course, I can assure you that I will not be dying to this boss." he said, taking a sip from his smoothie. He grabbed one of his scones, taking a bit out of it.

"You have no idea how happy this makes me. We were having trouble finding people who were actually willing to come with us. So far, we have 72 players, with 15 of them being Solo Players. We'll need around 120 players total to handle this boss. We're already farming for crystals and healing potions, as well as money so we can buy new equipment." she said, sipping her tea.

"Well, I can help you with that. On the 23rd floor, there's a Seamstress by the name of Ashley, she makes all sorts of clothes, including armor. She was the one that made me this Violet Assassin Garb." he said, a smile on his face.

"Wow, I was about to ask you where you got that. Sapphira had something similar, though she said she got hers from the 24th floors last hit bonus."

"The material most likely. Maybe Ashley made it, I don't know. However, if it doesn't interest her, she won't make it. Tell her I sent you and she should help you. You need to take her high grade materials. The caverns on the 25th floor dungeon have Young Lizardmen knights, and they drop thick Lizard hides which are great armor materials." he said, sending her the information for the cavern.

"Wow, I totally missed this place when I was level grinding. How is it that you Solo Players always find the best spots?" she asked.

"It's not hard, especially if you have good sources of information. Anyway, I have some materials to spare from the last few hunts I went on. Some Lizard hides, Snow Dire Wolf Pelts and Feral Ladybug Exoskeletons. Their not much, but they should be enough for at least one or two armor sets." he said, transferring the materials. He closed his menu and continued sipping on his drink.

"Thank you Akira. You don't know how grateful I am for this."

"Sure. Hey...have you seen Aries? It's been so long since I've spoken to her. Ever since the whole beater thing back on the First Floor actually." he said. Asuna nodded, pulling up her menu.

"Aries and I party up all the time. I've been teaching her how to speak English and understand Japanese in our spare time. I heard from Sapphira that she was doing the same for you."

"Yup, I can read some more of the complex Hiragana now...but it's still a bit challenging." he said with a small smile.

"It's always good to be fluent in more than one language. At least that's why my father always says. It makes sense, since he's a businessman and all. Anyway, there's gonna be a strategy meeting tomorrow at noon at Lava Stone Falls, near the Teleport Gate. Since your one of the top players, along with me, Kirito and Sapphira, I want you to help me situate everyone on the assault team. Kibaou used to do that, but since the ALS withdrew from the front lines, we lost that strategist." she said.

"But I can't...I'm not any good with that kind of thing. I could barely strategize castle take overs in the games I did play. That's why I stuck with the classic side scrollers."

"I'm sure you'll do fine Akira. After all, me and Kirito will be the ones placing people, we both volunteered to lead the assault. It'd be best if you could join up with your old assault party." she said.

"You mean...with Nick, Morrison and Aries? I can join up with Nick easily, he's busy level grinding on the 23rd floor labyrinth. Aries and Morrison? I don't know...especially with them knowing about Sapphira. I don't know if Morrison got over that."

"I know, it's gonna be hard. But we need the best of the best up there, and you five worked great together. Maybe you could find someone from the mass of Solo Players and add them to your party, round teams of six are easy to manage after all." she replied, sipping her tea. Akira shoved the last scone in his mouth, washing it down with his smoothie. He was glad choking was impossible in game, or else he would have died of choking ages ago. He stayed silent, weighing his options.

"When's the meeting?" he asked.

"Tomorrow Morning at 10AM. We're going to assess the information we have from the three scouting party survivors, as well as the statements from the rest of the guilds when we went to fight it today. We'll make the teams accordingly and head out at noon." she said.

"Anyone of interest among the Solo Players? Anyone you can single out from the other boss raids?"

Asuna adopted a pensive look, a finger underneath her delicate lips. She was lost in thought, reviewing the abilities and skills of the players that always showed up in the boss raids. Aside from herself, Kirito, Klein and his guild, Agil and maybe Nick, she couldn't name anyone. Her eyes widened, a smile on her face.

"Hmm...there is this one girl who's on the front lines. She doesn't talk to anyone at all. We don't even know if she speaks Japanese, or English for that matter. But she's good." she said.

"She got a name?" he asked.

"She hasn't told anyone her name. She's never partied up with anyone either, but she follows orders to a T, so she has to at least understand us." she said.

"Alright, what's she look like? Hair color, armor anything significant so I can keep an eye out for her."

"Well, she has bright orange hair, tied in a side ponytail, light brown skin, Greek style armor...oh, she's a Javelin and Shield user, her shield is round and a bright golden color, with a Phoenix emblazoned on it. Her Javelin looks a bit like a bladed spear but it's around seven feet long."

"Got it. I'll keep an eye out for her...guess I can try to talk to Aries. I never friended Morrison so I won't be able to talk to him." he said.

"I'll make sure he's there. If you want, we can hold the meeting for a few minutes for you two to talk. We don't mind doing that for you."

"Alright, I appreciate it Asuna. I gotta go, it's getting late and I'd rather have some extra time to check my inventory." he said.

"Right right, I have to do some final preparations myself. Thanks for joining me Akira, we should do this more often." she said. She tapped the place mat in front of her, opening the payment window. She payed off their bill, and both left the restaurant.

Walking through Taft, Akira was heading back to the Teleport Gate. He was lost In thought about what Asuna had said. His old assault team hadn't met up or even spoken to each other since the first floor. The only one he still spoke too was Nick. He sighed, stopping at the central square. He looked up at the dark sky, seeing only the bottom of the Twelfth Floor. He opened up his menu, scrolling down to his friends list. He had several people in that list, a few solo players who didn't care about his past in the Second Floor, players who he often traded items with. It didn't take him long to find Aries's profile, seeing as it was all in alphabetical order.

In Sword Art Online, there were several forms of communications. Primary Communications were simple text messages between players. Those who chose to friend each other were able to compose messages, and sometimes even send recordings to them through special recording crystals. Those who also chose to become friends, received each others profiles and were able to keep tabs on them, they could find out their location, current level and currently used Sword Skills, as well as their best attributes. Other than that, there wasn't much friends could see or do, well...that is unless they got married.

Aries's profile was as simple as they come, almost like an internet profile, or email account. Her profile picture held her smiling image, most likely of when the Nerve Gear first scanned her face, either that or it was her email account's personal image. He saw that she was on the 19th floor, out in the field. Her level was barely above 35, so she was most likely doing some level grinding.

It was known to all Solo Players that the best times to grind was at night. The influx of low level players was down to almost a few hundred, as they were to scared to venture out into the wilderness at night. He nodded to himself and set the Search Tracker on, before closing his menu. Once at the center of the gate, he looked up, closing his eyes.

"Teleport: Ralberg."

The familiar sight of the 19th floor settlement filled his eyes. He hadn't stuck around this particular floor after its clearing due to the creepy vibe it got. The settlement looked like something out of a horror novel. It was mostly modeled after a ghost town, with rickety old wooden buildings, dusty paths that lead all over the small town and tall trees that were bare no matter the season. It sat at the base of a hill, named the Hill of the Cross. It was a forest with mostly bare trees, and the trees that did have leaves were mostly Pine or Evergreen trees. Oak leaves littered the ground, giving it the feel that you were in a horror movie. It was the only dungeon in the entire Floor, thus it was cleared Two days after its opening, and since then, almost no one showed up, not even the NPCs dared venture into the town.

Akira stepped off the worn looking teleport gate and followed the marker he set straight to the Hill of the Cross. One little detail most avoided to speak about the Nineteenth Floor was that it was also a graveyard. The Hill of the Cross had a special area that was deemed a safe zone, which was also regarded as one of the creepiest places in Aincrad. There were a few graves dedicated to players, but that often never happened. The large spire that was the Labyrinth lay behind the Hill, off at the distant, looking as harrowing as always, but the difference here was that it had already been cleared, where as higher up, everything was still a mystery.

Skeleton Knights were the most common type of monster found in the dungeon of the Nineteenth Floor. They natural bony appearance was what unnerved the players who had originally set out to clear this floor. It was why it was done so quickly, so they could move on and avoid them, but it also left several unexplored places, and lots of loot to discover, and that was what the Mid-Level Players aimed for.

It didn't take long to clear the path free of the Knights that had appeared in front of Akira. A simple strike to their mid section would force them to defend with their shield. This would leave their legs open for attack, once they were gone, a simple strike to the head took them out. Of course this only worked for high leveled players like him.

The wind picked up slightly, sending a shiver down his spine. He stopped to look around sword still in hand. He couldn't share the feeling that he was being followed. His searching skill told him he wasn't, but he just couldn't shake it off. He quickened his pace, heading deeper into the hill.

Sounds of metal clanging against metal filled his ears, and soon, he was met with the sight of a young woman, training her skills with the Mace. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt, with a few flowery designs on it. She had on matching black shorts that reached to about mid thigh, underneath she had leggings that covered her legs, as well as silver leg armor. She had on black heeled boots, with golden trim around the tops. She was wearing a piece of thick armor across her chest, which left her lower left abdomen partially unprotected.

On her left arm was a round gray shield with crossing rivets on its front. In her right was a black mace, it reminded him of a hammer, the bottom part was square shaped and had several spikes on it. The top of it angled out into a sharp looking point. The handle was short but reliable, covered in black leather. The pink haired girl uttered a battle cry and flipped her mace around, burying the spike into the Skeleton Knight's skull. It swelled for a second, exploding outward with a small blast of cold wind. The pixels glowed for a few seconds, as the leaves were blowing all over and intermingling with them. The girl glowed a bright gold, signaling a level up. Akira smiled, walking up behind her.

"Nice job leveling up Aries."

The girl suddenly turned around, swinging her mace as hard as she could, the head glowing a bright pink color. Akira rose his sword, his own skill activating. They clashed with a loud clang, kicking up leaves, sticks and dust. The nearby creatures scurried off, scared as the echoing metallic sound reverberated through the empty hill. Aries's eyes were a bit cold, unlike the happy ones he had seen back on the First Floor. They told him that she had many hardships in the time they had spent apart. Their weapons remained still, joined together from their clash. Finally, after about a minute of silence, Akira withdrew his sword. He sheathed it to his back, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I shouldn't have come up behind you...that was my bad." he said. Aries narrowed her eyes slightly. With speed that outmatched even him, she barreled her Mace into his chest. The air in his lungs was gone, and he dropped to his knees. Due to his level and his armor, the attack did little to his HP. Aries's cursor went from green to orange, but she didn't seem to care. Anger was clear in her face.

"Idiota. You think you can just...three months...I have not seen you in three months, and you just...come up behind me, all casual like we're old friends." she shouted. Her Japanese was way better, but she still had her accent. Akira chuckled, looking up at the pissed off pinkette.

"Yeah, that was my bad. I was going to ask to party up after leaving the First Floor, but some thing...happened. I'm sure you know about it right?"

"How can I not know. All of Aincrad heard about the Violet dressed teenager to killed a person during a duel...but I do not care about this...you are mi amico, my friend...and you left me behind." she said, turning around and heading to town. He stood up and caught her hand.

"Wait...you can't go into town right now. Your cursor is orange...the first time it happens, it only lasts a few hours, but if you go to town, the Guardian will come out an either drive you out or kill you." he said. She tried looking at her own cursor, but since it as over her head, she wouldn't be able to see it. She sighed, slumping down the base of a tree.

"Dove andremmo?...Where would we go?" she asked. Akira presumed the first phrase was the same question in Italian.

"Hmm, it should only last a couple hours. If we Teleport to the 22nd Floor and run as fast as the system allows us too, we can make it to the lake. The 22nd Floor is the only area that has no monsters. We can wait there until your cursor turns green." he said.

"Isn't it too risky? Can't we just walk there?" she asked.

"We'd have to cross three labyrinths. By the time we actually make it to the 22nd Floor, your cursor would be back to green. The only other option is to wait here. There's almost no monsters and I just cleared the bottom of the hill not to long ago."

"Okay...we wait here." she said, settling at the base of the tree. Akira sat down next to her, focusing on the trees all around them. A few leaves were blowing in the wind, some falling from the trees. The little critters native to the floor were scurrying about. Brown squirrels with fluffy tails, as well as chipmunks who were digging through the leaves for nuts or other sources of food. The silence between them however was killing them. It as a bit to awkward to have a conversation. He finally settled on what do to, he opened his menu and materialized two apples. He handed her one, which she graciously took, a small thank you filled his ears. They both ate quietly, just enjoying the scenery, finally, after about five minutes, Aries had enough courage to speak.

"It's...good to see you Akira."

"You too Aries."

"Why didn't you...you know...talk to me?" she asked, making him look away.

"I was worried...after everything went down in Urubus, I just...disconnected from everyone. Hell, if Sapphira and Nick weren't so damn annoying, I'm sure I would have avoided them as well. I did help a couple people out of some sticky situations...but other than that, I tend to avoid people."

"Being labeled a murderer for winning a duel, I think I would hide too. But I hear you don't do that...your always in plain sight."

"I leveled up my Intimidation Skill. At 200, you can scare off little monsters and critters, at 500, you can scare off bigger monsters and even a few mid level bosses. At 700, you can scare off other players and NPCs. I'm currently at level 803 so I don't know what happens when it's maxed out." he said with a shrug.

"That would explain the chill I got when we clashed earlier. But...why now? Why would you come to me now of all times?" she asked.

"The Boss raid for the 25th floor is tomorrow at noon. The previous one was compromised and Asuna scouted me and a few other solo players to strengthen the gap the ALS left behind. She told me you'd be there and ask me to form up the old H Squad. Our assault party."

"The Assault Party? Do you actually think Morrison will want to join us? Especially knowing that Sapphira is a beater?" she asked.

"He's gonna have to join, he's an integral part of our squad. We need all the help we can get...besides I'm going to recruit one more Solo Player. A Roman themed Javelin and Shield user. She can balance out the front with me and Nick, then you and Sapphira can cover the back while Morrison handles the speed attacks. How have you been building your avatar?" he asked.

"Strength mostly, I am a mace user, so I have to have enough strength for my mace to do damage. The second highest is my defense, followed by accuracy."

"Alright, I can find a spot for you on the team, if you agree that is." he said.

"Of course I do...we're amicos..we need to stick together. To clear this game." she said.

"Yeah...clear the game." he muttered, looking away from her. She knew knew something from that statement had bothered him, but she didn't want to pry. She just got one of her friends back, and she wasn't going to lose him again.

Xxx

"So you got the team back together?" Rain asked, earning a nod from the purple haired teen. She had taken a seat on the free swing, with Sapphira sitting down at the edge of the playground, keeping her eyes on her message screen. She had made contact with Sakuya and was in the process of convincing her to log in.

"Well, I started to get them together. What can I say, Asuna convinced me to fight. On top of that it would have pissed this one off if I hadn't done anything." he said, glancing at Sapphira, who only flipped him off.

"I think I would have been annoyed too. But thankfully you did the right thing...so we're up to the clearing of the first mile stone floor. But hey, you didn't explain who Hayato was." she said.

"Calm down, I'm getting to it. In order to explain him, I have to tell you about how I met Sasha. I have to also tell you how me and Frenchy got to become friends again." he said.

"You know of Morrison hears you calling him that, he's gonna drive his rapier up your ass." Sapphira said.

"He can try me. I made it to level 17 this morning, I doubt he has what it takes to beat me...say do you know when the Elemental Sword Skills are going to be added into the game?" Akira asked.

"Hmm...no idea...the guys I work for haven't said anything. Their busy reprogramming Aincrad for ALO...I'd say by the time Floors 20-31 are ready to be explored." Sapphira replied.

"Sapph got a job working for Ymir after RECT Progress shut down the servers for ALO. She was one of the ones who convinced people that VR games weren't the root of all evil. I was the one that funded Yvir, but I let other people run the business." Akira said.

"Wait, the reason why ALO is still around is because you funded the company that took over?" Rain asked.

"Initially yes, he was a partner but he sold his rights to the current CEO of Yvir Industries. ALO wouldn't be around without Kirito too, and I guess we have Kayaba to thank for even starting this damn genre of video games. Alright, I was able to get Sakuya to log in, but she wants help on a mission down in the Sylph territory, you innie or outtie?" Sapphira asked.

"If I must, it's been awhile since I spoke to her anyway. Ooh, I want her to hug me." he said excitedly.

"Uh...why?" Rain asked curiously.

"Because Akira is fucking pervert and enjoys when Sakuya buries his face in her tits." Sapphira deadpanned.

"I do not...she just reminds me of my sister...except more flirty and perverted. Somehow, I think those two would get along like two peas in a pod." Akira said.

"No doubt about it. Alisha is so annoying, and she wont stop teasing us."

"Tell me about it, I met her just today and the teasing wouldn't stop." Rain said, crossing her arms.

"Well let's go, you know how Sakuya gets when we keep her waiting." Sapphira said, jumping up to her feet. Akira sent a party request to the two girls, which they quickly accepted.

"Any word from Aries or Morrison?" Akira said.

"Uh, Aries is back in Italy with her family, I don't know when she'll be able to log in. Last I heard from Morrison, he was on a field trip with his school in Paris. Nick moved to Japan so he could go to the SAO school but I haven't really heard from him for awhile. So it'll be just us for the time being." Sapphira replied.

"Just like old times...the First Floor used to be our stomping ground. I miss those times, I don't care what people said. SAO was the best thing to ever happen in the world, ever." he said.

"Tch...only one person on this planet is actually happy that he was trapped in a death game. I didn't think the sight of microwaved brain matter was so appealing." Sapphira said.

"I think that's just something that makes Akira special, wouldn't you agree Sapphira-san?" Rain asked. The green haired girl shrugged.

"Hell if I know...let's just get outta here...if we're lucky we might make it back for the boss raid."

"I suppose I can continue where I left off. The next part is the actual fight, one of the ones that made me realize just how screwed we truly were." Akira said, loosing himself in the memories.


	9. Aincrad Arc: The Mile Stone Floor

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to a new chapter of The Violet Assassin!**

 **This chapter continues on to the Floor 25 Boss Raid. We get to see just how Akira and his friends take down the Gate Keeper. It will also be the first chapter where Akira meets Sasha, someone who becomes very special in his life. We also get to see a bit more interaction between Rain and Akira and see how their relationship is slowly developing.**

 **I just finished a major story act for this story, and am getting rather close to the end of the Aincrad Arc. I still haven't decided if I will continue to floor 100. I know I mention this every chapter, but it's a really hard topic. How I have it set up, it will end at Floor 75, but I was thinking that maybe the stuff that happens on Floor 75 could in fact happen on another floor, maybe Floor 80, so they at least have 20 Floors left to clear when the stand off between Heathcliff and Kirito happens. I think it would be a better option then ending it at floor 75. Maybe Heathcliff ends up leaving for the Ruby Palace, but there's a glitch on Floor 80 that takes them to the Ruby Palace and they exploit this to finish the game off. I actually like that idea quite a bit.**

 **Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, let me know how this is coming along. Just as a heads up, this story starts at the end of the Fairy Dance Arc, right before Sword Art Online's interlude, where everyone goes on their first mission in ALO. I was also going to include some Gun Gale Online stuff, but I'm still working on it. Tell me what you think...**

 **Also, there are parts where I write about them feeling pain, that's something out of habit. I know that Sword Art Online doesn't have pain sensors, but sometimes I forget. So, let's just say that certain things will cause pain, like being slammed into a wall, having your limb broken or cut off and taking a heavy slash or a stab. I'm honestly trying not to write it this way, but it's a force of habit...**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 9

Milestone Floor

 _(February 25_ _th_ _2023 Lava Stone Falls: 25_ _th_ _Floor 10AM AST)_

Lava Stone Falls was brimming with people. While mostly, the area would stay relatively empty, today, it was filled with people from all over Aincrad. The city was modeled after Pompeii, the city at the base of an active Volcano in ancient Italy. The streets were made out of large white stones, carefully arranged into a sort of waterway. Since it was modeled after a real life city, the roads were actually used for sewage, if that existed in the game, surely they would have been filled. The stones were flat, and placed in such a fashion that they didn't cause any bumps in the road. The stone houses were made of the same material, mixed in with ash and natural pumice.

In the back of the city, Mount Kahlua stood, large plumes of black smoke emanating from its caldera. The area around the summit was covered in snow, and as one followed the white powdery substance, it started to meld with the black sides of the mountain, and then it melded with the greenery of the forest around it. Right behind it, was the labyrinth, the spire was a black ominous color, way different than the others from the lower floors. Ash was dancing in the air, falling almost as if it were freshly fallen snow.

Small piles had been shoveled out of the way, so that travelers could easily walk through, though that didn't stop anyone from running through it for fun. The paths leading out of town consisted of black soil instead of the usual brown dirt that formed the path, or the cobblestone walkways that lead to other places in town. Most of the plant life around Lava Stone Falls was either dead, or starting to grow. The creatures themselves looked rather odd as well, near the forests, one could find some Young Lizardmen, wearing heat proof armor, near the sides of the town. Small Two headed dogs could be seen running about. The reason why the city was actually called Lava Stone Falls.

It was because of the nearby Lava Flow, which flowed into a large crater a few miles away from town. There was a path that lead to an underground passage, which took you down into the falls. There, you could see the blazing orange flow, slowly making its way to the pond of lava, that flowed right out of the sides of the cavern. It was extremely hot there, so many avoided it, but it was a beautiful sight to see, and most usually snapped pictures of themselves near the flow. A few Furies could be seen flying around, most likely tending to their nests higher up the mountain.

The Square around the Teleport Gate was abuzz with activity. Several players from the assault team were waiting around, while Asuna and Kirito, planned with a few other guilds, most notably the Divine Dragon Alliance, one of the major clearing guilds currently in the game.

Akira had avoided stepping up to the Teleport Gate. He had donned his hood and barely made a peep when he walked through the crowd, searching for both Morrison and the girl Asuna had mentioned. No one had noticed him yet, most even regarded him as a new player and asked where he had obtained his gear, he brushed them off, saying he was busy, quiet enough so that they didn't recognize his voice. His boots clacked softly as he walked across the stone ground, eyes peeled. He glanced at his HUD, seeing his own HP bar, along with three others. He had been successful in getting Nick and Aries into his party. Sapphira was happy to see the pink haired girl, so happy in fact that they had decided to visit one of the food shops in town. Meanwhile, Nick was aiding his search for Morrison who had still not shown up, and if he had, he was doing a great job at not being found. He locked eyes with Asuna briefly, giving her a nod before continuing his search.

"Wonder where he is? Maybe I could find a waypoint and scan the area." he muttered to himself. He still remembered when he got that extra skill in his palette.

 _(Flashback)_

"Are you serious, there's an extra skill in your palette?" Sapphira asked, earning a nod from Akira. The two of them had gone down to Mangrove, the settlement on the 20th Floor. The girl had been looking for a special Mushroom that would allow her to make stronger Potions, but so far they hadn't found anything.

"It's called Sightseeing. Apparently if you climb the highest building on any floor, you'll be able to level it up. That way you can get a clear view of your surroundings. Say if you climb a huge as tree while on a new floor, you'll be able to see half of the map. Sadly that won't tell you what enemies, items and traps are located within. I'm still working on it's mastery."

"You have got to be shitting me. Are you seriously telling me that there's a skill that involves people climbing shit so they can see farther?" Sapphira asked.

"Yup, did you know there's an underwater breathing skill? You can unlock it by leveling up your Swimming skill."

"How the fuck did you discover that out?" she cried out.

"Uh...I spent an entire day swimming in Coral Lake...there was this monster hunting quest and I had to swim to the farthest side of the lake to find it." he admitted.

"Honestly, I think Kayaba just tossed in useless shit into this game. When the hell are we ever gonna need Underwater Breathing?" she asked.

"Trust me, we'll need it. One of these floors, there's gonna be a Kraken as the boss, you'll see."

"I swear to god, if one of the floor bosses is a Kraken, I am going to kick your virtual ass to high heaven." the green haired girl snapped, causing the boy to chuckle.

 _(Flashback Ends)_

He spent the next day showing Sapphira how to unlock Sightseeing, and even convinced her to climb the outer edge of Aincrad so she could level it up. She was scared shitless, especially when he pulled out a rope and tied it to a tree. He ended up jumping off the 23rd floor down to Ralberg's outer edge, something that made Sapphira scream. He got the shit beat out of him once he made it into town and he promised never to do it again.

"Hmm...maybe he isn't going to show up. I'm gonna head back down to the Sunleth Waterscape on the 10th Floor. I need more Bramble berries to make poison." he muttered.

"So...the rumor was true...it seems that one of the lead Assault team members not only invited a Beater into our raid party, but a murderer as well."

Akira froze mid step. He knew that voice...it carried the same accent as it did back in the first floor, though his Japanese had gotten a bit better now. Everyone started looking around, but no one said a word. The man smirked.

"Why don't you take the hood off Akira? Afraid you'd be lynched in the middle of the town square?"

Akira straightened up to his full height, and turned around, facing the very person he was looking for. Nothing had changed from him, except he now wore a stylish Pea coat over armor. Akira assumed he was wearing chain mail or some form of light armor underneath it. He wore matching pants, and around his waist, he had on thick armor plates, extending downward to around his knees. He wore brightly polished silver leg armor, which sat right on his boots. On his arms, he had black fingerless gloves and he had a rapier sheathed to his waist. He couldn't see anything, other than the pommel and a bit of the guard, which was curved outward and adorned with a jewel. He had on a black beret, with a white feather adorning it. Akira smirked, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"You really look like a Frenchman now Morrison. Though it begs the question, why a Scottish name?" he asked.

"That is none of your business Monsieur. I would ask you the same thing, why is a murderer hanging around the main raid team?" he asked.

"Now now, that's none of your business. If you must know, I'm one of the Solo Players Asuna personally picked. Due to the ALS pulling out of battle and joining with MMO Today on the First Floor, the Front Lines were in need of some help. To be honest with you, I'm sort of sick of the Divine Dragon Alliance hogging all of the good boss drops. I hear that streak of thirteen final hits was broken when Sapphira finished off the 24th floor boss...that about right Lind?" he asked, glancing at the teenager next to Kirito on the Teleport Station. The blonde haired teen fumed, however Akira knew that behind his polished light blue armor he was nothing more than talk. His guild was corrupt, but no one had the balls to say it.

"So they asked you to come here?" Morrison asked firmly.

"Yup. They did...and not just me, I'm getting the old team back together...so how about it? Wanna team up? For old time sakes?"

"Me? Team up with you? You must be joking Monsieur Akira."

"I'm not and you know it, we did significant damage to Illfang back on the first floor. We work well together and we can do damage, that's what we need to defeat Cerberus and you can't deny it. We don't have to speak to each other again after this. But if my hunch is correct, now that we've hit the 25th floor milestone, I can only assume that the next 75 floors are going to be tough. So if we gotta work together, then we have to put our differences aside, no more murderer insults, and no more Beater comments. Just a bunch of Elite Players working together for a common cause." he said firmly, walking up to the teen. The crowd cleared a path for him, and he stopped in front of the Canada native. Morrison spit at the ground, almost hitting Akira's boots. The hooded teen smirked a bit, half expecting this turn of events. He lowered his hood, ruffling his hair a bit.

"I spit at the ground you walk on. I will never team up with you." he said.

"Oh? You willing to bet that? Because a million col says otherwise." he said, a smile on his face.

"Pfft, you having a million col? Impossible."

"You don't have to believe me. I could prove it all by showing you my status menu, but that's like getting into shark infested water with a bucket of chum. However, I got another way to settle this, how about a good old fashioned Duel? If I win, we settle our differences and work together to defeat this boss, if I lose, then you get every item in my inventory, as well as my money. You won't have to party with me again. So how about it?" he asked.

"Laying it on the line? And for what? Just a boss raid?" Morrison asked.

"Not a boss raid. I'm trying to get a friend back...we never connected like me and Nick did, like me and Aries did, back on the First Floor. We were all in sync with each other, we trusted each other, had each others backs. But then everything fell apart when everyone realized Sapphira was a Beta Tester. I don't hold anything over her, this wasn't her or any of the other testers faults. I blame Kayaba for everything that's happening. We have the makings of a good team...so please...just accept. A First Strike duel will be fine." he said.

"And if one of us dies? Even with First Strike duels, players have to watch for Critical hits." Morrison said.

"Then I trust that you don't use any Ultimate Sword Skills on me." he said, opening the Duel Menu...with a few button strokes, he request was sent. It opened up in front of Morrison, who narrowed his eyes to read it.

" _Player Akira Challenges you to a duel, Accept or Decline?"_

Morrison hit accept and selected first strike. The count down timer appeared above them, along with their names. Morrison drew his Rapier, allowing Akira to get a good view of it. It was around 43 inches in length, with 37 inches of it being the blade. It was thin, and glistened in the little sunlight that was in the area. The handle was long enough to fit in his hand, the hand guard coiled in front of it, he took a traditional fencers stance, eyes narrowed and looking at his target. Akira stayed rather calm though. No one saw a weapon anywhere, not on his belt and not on his back, so they were all starting to formulate theories about what he was going to do. Not even Asuna knew what the purple clad teen would do. All they could do was watch as the timer slowly ticked down.

"What's wrong? Too scared to draw a weapon?" Morrison asked, a smirk on his face. The timer hit ten and Akira shrugged, returning to his still stance on the other side of the makeshift field.

" _Idiot, he isn't drawing a weapon, perhaps he intends to do minimal damage with his Martial Arts skill. If that's the case, I'll out speed him and use a Linear on him."_ Morrison thought to himself.

His plan was already drawn out. The Timer hit zero, and the word Start appeared in bright white letters. Morrison wasted no time to dash forward. His Rapier was glowing a light pink as he went in for a low strike. Akira however kept still, not avoiding the skill until the last minute. Morrison almost lost his footing as the violet clad teen vanished from sight. Akira landed in a crouch and pulled a small bottle from his back, a smile on his face.

"What the? How could you evade that?" Morrison said, glancing behind him. He grit his teeth, waiting for the post skill motion to end before dashing back toward Akira. The teen ducked left and right, avoiding the blade of the Rapier by mere inches.

"RRAGH, Just stay still damn it." the rapier wielder shouted, raising his sword over head. He was going to use Above, a level 2 Rapier Skill with Low chance to Stun. Golden trails of light danced off the glowing blade, leaving a trail of light and energy behind as he brought the sword down. Morrison grinned, knowing he was about to win the duel.

A sudden loud clang resounded through the area. The force of the clash was enough to kick up a strong wind, which sent dirt and dust flying every which way. Morrison stood there, in utter shock. His Rapier had been blocked by Akira. He had been using a short sword, modeled after the sword breaker. The Post Skill motion kicked in, leaving Morrison in a frozen state. Akira easily pushed the Rapier out of his way, spinning on his heel, he delivered a fierce slash across his chest, leaving a gash across his chest.

He slammed the bottle on the ground, causing a smoke cloud to cover the field. Akira jumped back, disappearing from sight. Morrison started coughing a bit, using his hand to blow the smoke out of his face. He glanced at his HP, seeing that it was at around Eighty percent. A regular slash wouldn't do much to a person with heavy armor. But Rapier users focused solely on Agility, leaving their strength close behind. Regular slashes would do more damage due to lack of equipment, so that's why he had to be careful.

"Come out, coward." he shouted.

"Coward? I'm not being a coward, I'm just playing the game. You see, after three months of being stuck here, I realized that you either started to get good, or you started to get dead, I chose the former. While leveling up my Potion Mixing skills, I unlocked a new skill, Bomb Crafting. What you're currently standing is the first of my many Smoke Bombs, and be glad that it's just plain smoke. I could have thrown some paralyzing spores at you." he said, still using the smoke as a cover. Morrison slashed at the air wildly, being unable to see anything, he was starting to grow pissed.

"Bomb Crafting? Such a skill does not exist." Morrison cried out.

He felt a tingling sensation on his arm, and looked down, seeing a new gash on it, pixelated blood started flowing from the cut. He felt another on his face, and a third one on his chest, slightly over the first he had gotten, three speed slashes, each dealing a single point of damage.

"It's an extra skill...I didn't think one like this existed, but hearing about Ashley's Two Handed Sword Skill and Klein's Katana Skill, I'm inclined to believe it's true. Besides, the smoke is clear isn't it?" he asked, just as the smoke effect cleared off.

"Where are you?" Morrison cried out.

"In plain sight." Akira replied, aiming an Armor Pierce at his chest.

Morrison deflected it, using the Post Skill motion to land a clean hit. Akira's HP dropped down to 70%, another hit like that he'd lose. He jumped back, dodging another slash. Morrison ran forward, aiming his second fastest skill, Over Radiation at Akira's chest. The purple clad teen watched as the tip of the blade was coming straight at him. When it was a fraction of an inch closer to penetrating him, he rose his dagger, using it to readjust its trajectory. Their blade's sparked at the sudden clash, kicking up more wind and dust around them. Akira pulled his fist back, letting out a battle cry as he activated his Martial Arts skill. He landed a solid punch to his face.

Morrison's head snapped back and his hat was sent flying. Disoriented for a few seconds, the rapier wielder tried to send another attack at the dagger wielder. Akira flipped his blade around and clashed once more sending it flying into the air. He spun on his heel, delivering a solid side kick to the center of his chest, sending him flying back. He slammed into the ground, completely stunned. Akira caught his rapier, holding it tightly in his hand. The Winner banner appeared above him, signaling the end of the duel. Everyone stood around stunned, still not believing how Akira was able to overpower a well known rapier wielder. He stopped a few steps away from him, sheathing his dagger.

"I won." he said firmly.

"So you did. I admit...you got good...real good. I was expecting you to use a sword." he said.

"I needed to raise my skill with daggers. If I wasn't raising those skills up, I wouldn't have unlocked that Extra Skill. So, now that I did win, will you accept my offer and rejoin the team?" he asked. Morrison looked away, seemingly in thought. After a minute, he received a curt nod from the teen. Akira held his hand out and helped him up to his feet, handing him his Rapier.

"I will join your team, and I will...try to let bygones be bygones..just try not to murder other people eh?" he asked.

"It was an accident, and trust me...I'm not killing anyone."

"Good, good we're all buddy buddy now..will you explain how the fuck you got bomb crafting as an extra skill?"

Akira eeped in surprise, a chill going down his spine. He turned around, seeing a very pissed off Sapphira looking at him. Beside her was their other teammate Aries, who had a sheepish smile on her face. She gave a shy wave, trying not to express how nervous she was.

"I'd like to know that myself." Nick said, appearing next to Akira.

The violet clad teen noticed that he had acquired new armor. He wore a set, similar to the ones the knights of old would wear. Layered metal plates made up the chest and back parts of it, with wide shoulder guards. He was wearing long arm pieces, which had little spikes coming out of them, the gauntlets had a few engraved designs on it, mostly roses or other types of flowers. His leg armor was thick, and glossy, which reflected the little sunlight. His greaves were wide, the front being rounded and reinforced with smaller plates, that protected his shins and ankles. There was a two handed great sword sheathed to his back..and looking at it, it was as plain as they came.

"Damn, finally unlocked Two Handed eh?" Akira asked.

"Yup, but don't dodge the question. Answer your woman before she splits ya in half with that sword." Nick said, a smirk on his face. Akira sighed, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

"For the last fucking time, Sapphira is not my girlfriend nor will she ever be. She and I got a sibling friendship." he said firmly. For some reason, Sapphira felt a bit sad hearing that, but no one seemed to notice. She appeared, right next to Akira, nodding in agreement.

"Yup, what he said...now seriously, how did you unlock Bomb Crafting, we'd all like to know." she said, waving at the crowd of onlookers. Akira swallowed. The only time he'd seen this many people looking at him was when he was still on the first floor. He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts.

"I don't know the prerequisites to unlock it, perse. I might have gotten it from a quest I got on the Fifteenth floor. What I do know, is that you need to max out Potion Mixing in order to use it. Bomb Crafting involves mixing a few materials in order to make it. Basic smoke bombs use a mixture of different plants found on the fifth floor. If you want to make a Poison Bomb, then you have to collect some Poison spores from the Mushrooms on the 20th floor, and you have to be extremely careful, or else you'll end up poisoning yourself. That last thing you need is a poison status in the middle of the woods." he said, shrugging a bit.

"Well, if this little event is done...I'd like it if we can get back to what we're here for, raising the boss." Lind cried out, clearly angered. Akira narrowed his eyes for a bit.

"I am done this whole little _event_ as you so called it, but I'm not done recruiting people for my party. Now if anyone could tell me where to find the fiery red headed javelin and shield user, has a phoenix emblazoned on her shield?" he said, looking around.

"She's right over here."

Akira followed the sound of the voice, looking up at the roof of an stone building. The girl he was looking for was sitting there, legs crossed and an amuse smile on her face. She had light brown skin, and long orange hair, tied into a side ponytail. She was wearing Greek style armor, though she lacked shoulder guards. Underneath her bronze armor, she wore a tan V-neck shirt, she wore a matching black skirt that ended slightly above mid thigh. She was wearing bronze leg armor, that covered almost all of her legs. She had brown heeled boots, with thin heels that looked like they'd snap at any moment. She had a long orange sash tied around her waist, covering most of her skirt. She had a black belt, with a bronze hook on it, which held her javelin. She wore brown gloves on her arms, and on her left, she had a brass gauntlet, her shield proudly placed on it. Her green eyes bored into his blue ones. Akira smirked, placing a hand at his hip.

"So, your the Javelin user I've heard so much about eh? Sapphira here filled me in last night when asked her. A fiery orange haired girl who follows every issued order without question yet doesn't oppose any order, barely even talks. Hell, I'm willing to bet those three words are the first thing you've ever said since logging in. What's your name beautiful?" he asked, making her girl giggle.

"Boy, you really are the Violet Assassin aren't you?" she asked, jumping off the roof.

"Violet Assassin?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's the name you've made for yourself since the Second Floor, I should know, I was there when it happened. People call me the Greek Goddess, you may call me Sasha. Are we gonna party up or what?" she asked firmly, earning a look of shock from the teen. He nodded, issuing the party invitation. She accepted it, nodding to herself and walking off toward the teleport gate. Akira glanced at Nick, who shrugged, not really knowing what to think. All the main teams were now settled in front of the teleport station, waiting for the meeting to start.

"Alright, most of us already know what the boss is, but for the sake of those who don't, we'll be explaining it. Its name is Cerberus Guard of the Underworld Gate. It has seven HP bars." Asuna said, earning a few gasps from the crowd.

"This thing is huge, the left and right heads attack in unison, dishing out mostly melee attacks, bites and slashes. But when it loses three HP bars, the Middle head becomes more active. That's when it starts getting aggressive. When it loses four, it starts diving into the lava pools. Its super heated skin makes it harder for blunt and slash attacks to work, so thrusting attacks will have to do. What we need is to stop it from diving into the lava pools. We were able to do that once and its skin returned to normal, but after we lost the ALS squadron, it kept jumping in and out of the lava." Kirito continued.

"For the first half of the battle, we need everyone who's willing to dish out the maximum amount of damage they can, get its bars down and quick, its susceptible to status effects, so if anyone can Paralyze, Poison or cause Bleed, do so, it will help us greatly. After its fourth bar is taken, we'll need a defensive line around the lava pits to hold it from diving in. We feel this will disorient it enough for it to be attacked head on. Avoid the middle head as much as possible as it will do the most damage out of the three. Its weak points are on its legs."

"Col will be divided evenly and whoever does the final attack will get the bonus item." Asuna finished, earning a disapproving head shake from Lind. He smirked, placing a hand on his Scimitar.

"That last hit shall be mine." he said.

"Hmm yeah, we'll see about that." Akira muttered to himself.

"Alright, lets get up to that labyrinth and beat this thing. Dying isn't an option, some of you will not make it back alive...I hope you're all prepared for that."

Everyone remained silent, no one wanted to say anything due to the gravity of the situation. Once everyone made sure they had all the right equipment, they all followed the raid leaders out of the city, heading toward the distant labyrinth.

It took them around an hour to reach the entrance to the labyrinth, and two more to actually reach the top floor. Everyone took a break before the boss room doors. The walls around them were pitch black, eerie lines were carved out of the stone, creating the shapes of bones and skulls. The floor of the labyrinth was firm and made of black granite, with small specks of white in them, they shined to a gloss, reflecting the small amount of light. While everyone was resting, Akira was surveying their numbers, their troops. They all had good armor, good equipment, and he was sure they had healing items. He walked all the way to the front, where Asuna and Kirito stood, speaking with Klein and Agil. He gave them a nod and looked at Asuna.

"Listen, did the three survivors say anything about the room itself?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He looked around, making sure they weren't being listened too.

"I mean, is this a no crystal zone?" he asked.

"No crystal zone?" Klein asked curiously.

"It's an area where the use of crystals is forbidden. Their really dangerous, especially because no crystals can be used, healing or otherwise. If this area is a no crystal zone, then our way to escape, should we need it, becomes top priority." he said.

"Don't worry Akira, crystals can be used in this room. It's how the ALS was able to fall back so quickly." Kirito replied.

"Good. I don't want to lose people, it's why I'm keeping this hush hush. If we tell them that now, I doubt they'd want to stay." he said.

"How did you even find information on that?" Agil asked curiously. Akira frowned, glancing at the wall.

"I partied with this kid on Floor 18 for a quest. We ended up running into a Super Boss while on the way there. When we tried using our crystals, we were both trapped. I barely made it out of there alive, only two HP left. Ever since then, I quit going after Super Bosses." he admitted, earning a grim look from the others.

"You must be super strong though, you telling me that you couldn't handle it?" Klein asked.

"Normally I would, but I didn't plan an encounter like that. Super Bosses are sixty levels above player levels, and I was level 53 at the time."

"Damn, I'm slacking off a bit...I should get to level grinding so I can gain more levels." Kirito admitted, making the black haired boy chuckle.

"Anyway, thanks for bringing that up Akira. Go back to your party, I'm sure they need some last minute adjustments." Asuna said, he nodded and turned back, eyeing everyone that was there with them. He was at least glad they weren't muttering things under their breath when he walked by. Perhaps he had gotten some respect out of them all.

"So, what was that about?" Sapphira asked, when he returned to where they were.

She was leaning against the wall, one leg propped up against the wall. He gestured for her to follow, and she did, reaching the stairwell where the rest of their team was waiting. Nick was leaning back against the wall, checking his items, Morrison was slumped beside him, hand propped on his knee. Aries was sitting on the steps, checking over her mace. Sasha seemed to be the only one paying attention. She was silently watching, green eyes scanning everyone around her. Her shield was already equipped, and her Javelin was hooked to her waist, glistening from the nearby torch.

"Listen, I don't know how this will turn out, I'm estimating around sixty of us are strong enough to handle this. I don't know how strong most of these people are, but we'll need to work together and be ready for anything. This boss means business, especially if it was able to take out 80 ALS members without breaking a sweat. Don't hesitate to use items, don't hesitate to choose yourselves before the others and don't hesitate to switch out with someone else, watch your partner's back and they'll watch yours." he said.

"What do you mean by partner?" Nick asked.

"Just as you've heard it. We're a party of six, so that's three pairs of two. I'm going to divide you into those parties right now, Nick, I want you and Aries at the front, both of you are out hard hitters, you'll help the others do some early damage, once the second bar is gone, I want Morrison and Sapphira to go in, both of you work on Agility as your main stat boost with strength as a second. I want you to use speed attacks when you can and protect those who are in the red, but remember, your lives before theirs, only worry about those who you feel will make an impact. After the next two bars are gone, me and Sasha will switch in, and help who ever is left with taking it out. If you feel the need to say something, do so now." he said.

All of them stayed silent, which surprised him. He was expecting Morrison to at least say something about his partner, it seemed as if all of them fully trusted his judgment. He heard the room doors start to open and Asuna was giving out some last minute advice, he nodded to them and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Alright, lets go finish this." he said firmly.

The boss room was bright when they entered it. It was a circular field, black in color with thick pillars made of hardened lava positioned around it. Large lava pools were giving the room its bright glow. Two paths served to connect the field, the one they were using to get to it, and the one that connected to the spiraling stairwell to the Twenty Sixth Floor. While everyone walked to the center of the battlefield, Akira held his team back, using his Search Skill to see if the area was truly clear. Sure, it wasn't as high as he'd wanted it to be, but it worked for now. The ground started rumbling, and he looked to the left, seeing something coming out of the lava.

"Everyone get back, to the right." he shouted, pointing to the other side of the field. They followed his order without questioned, barely avoiding the giant creature that came out of the lava.

It was a large dog, around the size of a six story building, with thick black skin, devoid of any fur. Its legs were thick, and looked almost like a bodybuilder's arm, pulsing with muscle. Its paws were adorned with sharp looking black claws. It had three thin tails, each moving on its own. The left and right heads resembled a Pit-bulls with rows and rows of sharp looking white teeth, both were snarling, thick white foam coming from the sides of the mouth, while the middle one seemed more docile than the others. The two side heads had red beady eyes, while the middle one had glowing yellow ones. The cursor appeared above its head, followed by its name. Cerberus, the Underworld Guard. The heads barked loudly, its seven HP bars appeared beside it.

"Alright everyone follow the plan. Attack it as much as possible, and keep it away from the lava pits." Asuna shouted, drawing her rapier. All off the tanks settled around the borders of the field, keeping a close eye on the lava pits, while the main attackers went in straight for the attacks. Nick and Aries headed off, determined looks on their faces.

Akira kept a close eye on their HP, monitoring it as well as he could. He kept his eyes peeled for anything he could do. When he wasn't watching their HP, he was keeping an eye on Cerberus, making sure it wasn't about to pull something erratic. The first HP bar was gone, and that's when everything changed.

The middle head, the one everyone thought wasn't going to get active, suddenly moved, letting out a loud howl. Akira's eyes widened in shock.

"What the hell? It changed its parameters." he muttered.

"What do we do?" Sapphira cried out. Sasha wasted no time in running forward, she drew her Javelin, its tip glowing yellow.

"Out of the way." she shouted, launching it has hard as she could. The glowing weapon sailed through the air, nailing the middle head. It cried in surprise, becoming stunned from the unexpected attack. Its second HP bar hit the yellow, stopping one point shy of the Green.

"Damn." Akira muttered. Sasha smirked, catching her javelin before it hit the ground. The attackers took their chance to unleash several combos on it.

"That was Piercing Stun, a level 2 Javelin Skill. You could say I'm like you, I have the Extra Skill for Javelins from leveling up Spears." she said.

"Hmm, who knew?"

"Were going in. Its second bar was just taken out." Sapphira said, racing past them with Morrison at her heels. Nick and Aries jumped back, pulling out some potions. Their HP bars were just above the red, but with their potions they were safely back in the green.

"We're doing fairly well, nothing's gone wrong...but I'm worried about that head...its become active faster than I thought it would." Akira said.

"You don't think...since this is the second battle we've had with it, that its realized it and become stronger?" Sasha asked.

"I dunno. It's entirely possible, but I haven't heard of a boss that's self aware. If its a self learning AI, than it might remember what it faced last time and gotten ready to counteract it." he said.

He looked at the creature's HP bar, which had just hit the third bar. The middle head roared loudly and stomped its forelegs into the ground, sending a few people flying. Screams filled the air as the creature jumped toward the Lava pits. The shield users tried to block it...but Cerberus swiped its big paw, knocking them out of the way. Six of them landed in the lava and died instantly, their pixels sailed through the air and disappeared shortly after. Nick grit his teeth and drove his great sword into the creature's hind leg before it dove into the lava, getting its aggro on him.

"Nick, you fucking idiot what are you doing?" Akira shouted.

"Drawing it in, you attack its head, I'll weaken it as best as I can." he shouted back. He ran forward, Sword glowing brightly as he performed Tempest, leaving a large and deep gash in its leg, it fell to its belly, being unable to stand.

"Alright, everyone else forward. Aries, your with me on its left head, Sasha, keep the middle one distracted, Sapphira and Morrison speed attacks to its weak points." he shouted, drawing his sword. He gave a howl, aiming a Vertical to its right head. The purple skill lingered in the air for a few seconds before he was headbutted away.

"Akira...you three-headed...bastardo!" she shouted, pulling her Mace back. It glowed a bright green as she barreled its head underneath Cerberus's jaw, leaving a solid green arc of energy in the air. She had been successful in delivering a perfect Uppercut. Her eyes widened as its paw started coming down on her. Akira tacked her out of the way in time to avoid being crushed. He groaned, looking at his HP bar. It was barely above half, but slowly filling in.

"Dummy, don't use high powered sword skills like that. The post skill motion could be your down fall." he said.

"Hey, I got its HP down, thank me later." she said, pushing him off her. She rapidly got up, using a healing potion to bring her HP up. Akira knew she was right, its third HP bar had gone down from that one hit. Just how strong had the pink haired Italian gotten in the time he hadn't seen her.

"Alright, I wasn't going to waste these, but I got no other choice. Hey, everyone back up for a bit, I'm going to poison it." Akira said, rapidly standing up. He pulled out a purple vial from his pocket and chucked it at the middle head. It burst into a purple haze, and Cerberus was unlucky to have breathed it in. All of the attackers watched in awe as the Poison status appeared next to its HP bars.

"Thank god for Bomb Crafting. I need to get that shit unlocked." someone cried out. Akira followed up with a Paralyze Bomb, giving it the status ailment as well.

"Quick, we got five minutes, everyone give it your heaviest attacks." he shouted, running forward. He jumped up, sword glowing brightly.

"Cross Combination." he howled. He brought his sword down, leaving a deep gash in the middle head, he slashed horizontally and then diagonally. He finished the combo with an upper diagonal slash, finishing the cross. He stood in place as his fellow players started unleashing their best skills. He watched as Cerberus's HP bars steadily dropped, one by one until it only had one left. The paralyze status finally wore off, and it was back on the attack.

"Alright, team move forward." Akira cried, running at the creature. Sasha matched his pace, a small smile on her face.

"After that Last Hit Bonus aren't ya?" she asked.

"So what if I am? I'm level fifty-three, I'm confident in my abilities." he said, earning a giggle from her.

"As am I, remember what you said, he or she who does the final attack, gets to keep the bonus. I never said I was going to stay in your party forever." she said, adding a bit of speed to her run. Akira smirked pulling out a light blue crystal, holding it up.

"Speed up." he chanted, the crystal burst and he begun glowing blue. For Five minutes, his Agility would be maxed out. He easily passed Sasha, who watched stunned for a second. He jumped up, sword glowing a bright white. Tendrils of energy danced around the blade, avoiding his face by mere inches, he gripped the hilt of his sword as tightly as he could, uttering the name of the skill.

"Savage Fulcrum."

Three rapid slashes were dealt in quick succession, forcing Akira into a Post Skill cool down. Cerberus stopped moving entirely, its last HP bar hit the zero. The creature burst into pixels, the force of the breeze enveloped Akira in its grasp, slamming him into the ground. He lay there, stunned and gasping for air. His HP stopping right above the red. The congratulations banner appeared before them, and everyone let out a simultaneous cheer. The Status menu appeared, as well as the level increase menu. Akira had gotten 6,845 Experience from defeating it. The maximum amount of damage he dealt had been 534,857 points. Another menu appeared, and he read it over, a smile on his face.

" _You got the Last Hit Bonus."_

A third window appeared before him, showing him the item he'd gotten. It was a one handed long sword, named The Gatekeeper. He wanted to see what stats it had, but thought against it, and closed all the windows. He saw a hand in front of him, looking up to see who it belonged to, he noticed that it was Sasha. He took it, and she helped him up.

"Congratulations on defeating Cerberus. You not only dealt the last hit, but you were also able to keep it stunned for a good amount of time. If it wasn't for those bombs you made, we wouldn't have won. Even though we lost six today, we still managed to defeat it. I think you deserve the honor of activating the Teleport Gate for the 26th floor." She said.

"What...are you serious? I mean, we all worked together. We brought it down as a raid party." he said, looking at everyone. A few people chuckled and others shook their heads.

"We all agreed already. Whoever manages to defeat the boss, gets the honor of activating the next Floor. Come on, Sapphira activated the 25th floor, it makes sense for it to be your turn. We won't teleport up there until it's active, so take all the time you want." Asuna said with a smile. He looked around, at all the tired but smiling faces. He nodded, gripping his sword tightly.

"Alright, I'll hurry up and activate it." he said, racing off toward the stairwell. He reached the exit doors and pushed them open, passing through into the hazy tunnel.

Xxx

"So, that's how you met the Greek Goddess huh?" Rain asked, earning a nod from Akira. The two of them were with Sapphira, flying down toward the capital of Alfheim, Yggdrasil City.

"Yes indeedy, Sasha was...really something. She was the only person who unlocked the Javelin skill. Apparently it had something to do with maxing out her Accuracy within the first few months of playing. I didn't hear of anyone else getting that skill in the later game." he said.

"I'm still jealous of that...such a rare skill. She and Kirito have all the luck." Sapphira muttered under her breath. The three of them picked up the pace, finally reaching the city at the top of the World Tree. Akira landed first, his wings disappearing shortly after.

"Aw don't be like that. Javelins and Dual Wielding pale in comparison to my super awesome Elite Skill." Akira said, a smirk on his face.

"Elite Skill?" Rain asked curiously.

"Uh uh, a story for another time, my lady. I still haven't started on the next part of my story...it's one of the best days of my life. The day I started my own guild." Akira said happily.

"Hey, over here!" a familiar voice cried.

The three friends looked up, seeing the leader of the Sylphs not far from where they stood. The black haired woman was of course accompanied by her best friend, who was also the leader of the Cait Sith. Akira smiled, running off to meet them. Rain was about to go with him when Sapphira took a hold of her hand.

"Listen, what's your angle in all this?"

"Huh? What do you mean Sapphira?" she asked.

"Don't act like we haven't met. Both of us know each other from our time in SAO, how come Akira doesn't know this?" she asked.

"I uh...wanna keep it a secret...I want to hear his story." she replied, pressing her fingers together.

"Well, you should know most of it, considering you tagged him for most of his time in Aincrad. Listen, I don't know what you want with him but if you hurt him in anyway, I will find out where you live and I will cut you. He's suffered enough as it is, he doesn't need some wannabe liar in his life."

"I'm not a liar! I genuinely care about Akira!" she cried out angrily.

"Doesn't look like it, considering the fact that you waited all this time to approach him. Keep your guard up sweetheart, this may not be a death game, but that doesn't mean you can't die." Sapphira replied, giving Akira a wave as he called the two over. Rain just stood there, not knowing what to do. She took a deep breath, nodding to herself.

"Maybe...I should tell him about my time in SAO...I think I trust him enough." she said. Steeling her resolve, the red headed Leprechaun walked off to meet with her friends.


	10. Aincrad Arc: Birth of the Phoenix

**A/N: Hey Guys, are you ready for more Sword Art Online? Just make sure that the lights are on in the room, and you don't sit too close to the TV/Monitor!**

 **In this chapter, we get to see Akira reunite with his friends on the 34th Floor. The beautiful beach floor that everyone absolutely loved, except for him that is. He wanted to fight monsters instead, because what man wouldn't want to waste his time killing monsters rather than staring at the beach babes? Not me, mhmm...nope not at all.**

 **We get to see more of Alicia Rue and Sakuya in this chapter, who happen to be really close with Akira. I mean, if Kirito doesn't want them in his Scorned Women's Club, might as well give them to Akira amirite? No...okay...**

 **Anyway, I'm glad all of you are liking this story so far, and I say this lightly since only a few of you have reviewed, one being the same person multiple times, which I appreciate...this one goes out to you G King, stay frosty.**

 **So without further adoo, here's Chapter Ten for ya. Remember, if you get hungry Snap into a Slim Jim...**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 10

The Birth of the Phoenix

"So this guy Hayato is threatening you and forcing you to take your items?" Sakuya asked, taking a dainty sip of her tea. Akira felt rather embarrassed, but he gave the woman a nod.

"He says he will make my life a living hell if I tell anyone IRL. He also said he would track down my IP address and find out where I live. I didn't tell anyone until now because I was scared, but now I'm more pissed off than anything." he replied.

"Hmm, why is that Akira-kun? What makes now so different?" Alicia asked, giving him a catty grin. Her pet dragon, Alduin was sitting on her shoulder, munching on some peanuts she was giving him. He was at least glad she took his advice, even if she didn't get the reference.

"He wanted me to hand over a weapon that means a lot to me. I got it from a friend." he said, leaning into his seat. Rain's eyes widened a bit and she flushed, earning a sigh from Sapphira.

"There isn't much I can do, especially since he's a Salamander...but I will help you defeat him. The only way we can do this is settling it with a sword." Sakuya replied.

"If only, he works for Ymir so he has admin privileges. For all I know, he'll bright Excalibur to this fight and wreck my shit." he said, shivering at the throught.

"The Violet Assassin killed by his own sword, that would be painfully ironic." Sapphira said, giggling a bit.

"The Excalibur in ALO is nothing like the SAO version of it. Do you know how hard it was getting my hands on that? I had to do Sword Art Online's Grand Quest on the 73rd Floor." he said.

"Story Time?" Rain asked, clasping her hands together.

"Sadly no, that's a story for another time. Besides you don't even know why he hates me so fucking much. You already know this story Sakuya so you don't have to listen to it." he said.

"I don't mind hearing it again, it's fun to learn about my favorite Imp's adventures in Aincrad." the black haired woman said.

"Whoa wait a minute, I thought you didn't share this story with anyone else. How the hell did Sakuya talk you into speaking?" Sapphira cried out.

"Like I said, she reminds me of Alisha. It wasn't hard for me to just open up to her...besides no one understands me, no one except other players or SAO survivors." he replied.

"That's not it at all...Sakuya probably seduced him with those things like she does with other guys." Alicia cried, pointing to the older woman's breasts. She giggled, hiding her face behind her fan.

"No I am not denying nor confirming this."

"Whatever, I guess it's time for the obligatory beach chapter!" Akira said happily.

"Ugh...I don't want to relive this day." Sapphira muttered dryly.

Xxx

 _(July 31_ _st_ _2023 2:09 PM. Location: Honolucia Beach 34_ _th_ _Floor)_

The day the 34th floor was unlocked, everyone rejoiced. No one was expecting to receive a beautiful beach themed floor, but when everyone saw it, almost no one wanted to leave. Half of the 34th floor was a safe area. Honolucia Town was flooded with tourists and clearer players alike.

The town was almost like a Hawaiian city, with wooden boardwalks over the bright blue water, wooden buildings with bright colors and tropical plants everywhere. The biggest area of interest was the big boardwalk, as it had a strip of popular stores on it. The item shops and clothing stores run by NPCs were found here, as well as one of the popular NPC run restaurants, that served mostly seafood dishes. There was also an Ice Cream shop that was always flooded with people.

The beach had soft golden sand, and several tall palm trees growing out of it. Bundles of grass grew here and there, and small red crabs could be seen walking about. The waves lapped at the shore, a bit of foam being left behind. Some kelp was also brought with the waves, but people seemed to ignore it. The entire beach was filled with players, all in their swim suits. The guys were either playing catch with their friends or swimming, the third obvious thing that they did was watch the girls sunbathe, as some got a little daring and took off their tops to tan their backs. Other girls were playing in the water with their friends, splashing each other senseless. And with it being the middle of summer, it seemed as if no one had a care in the world.

Except for those who actually found it more interesting to battle monsters than to spend time at the beach. Akira fit this description. Ever since the floor was unlocked, almost no one wanted to work on clearing it. He understood that people needed to relax, but there was a thing as too much relaxation. It was even worse that the front lines hadn't found the labyrinth's location whatsoever. That only drove people into settling in, and if they did, then they'd never clear the floor. He was currently in the Beach cave, a sub-dungeon of the 34th floor that was located on the west side of the main settlement. Within it were several sea themed monsters.

The one he had just dispatched had been called the Sea Bearing Crab. A red and lime green creature that rivaled the spider he had faced with Silica on the Fifth Floor. Its pincers were sharp, and he had been lucky to escape being cut in half, defeating those hadn't been fun.

The second type of monster he'd found was one called Fish Bones and just as the name entailed, he had to face white fish bones. The thing was, they were tanky as hell. Every sword skill he threw out had been either tanked or deflected with its tail. He had resorted to using Blunt attacks to take them down. He had been avoiding those from there on out.

The rest of the monsters were classified as either easy or moderately hard. Since all of the monsters were around level 45, they dished out some good experience, and him being level 62 made it easy to clear the area. Sadly, he hadn't found any information on the Boss Room at all, the labyrinth still eluded them even after three weeks of being there. The Front Lines streak of clearing a floor within a week had been broken by this one, and the fact that everyone was enjoying the beach made him worry a bit.

He defeated the last King Crab, watching as its pixels disappeared, the salty air hitting his nose and ruffling his cloak. The area around the cave was a bit damp, but the large mouth hole at the end of the cave gave it the sufficient light to walk around in. The sound of the waves hitting the sharp rocks below filling his ears. He turned around, sheathing his dagger and heading for the exit. He felt that ever since Kirito left the front lines, he'd been level grinding too much. No one knew why, but around a month prior, when the Front lines had been at the 30th floor, the teen just never showed up for the boss battle.

He'd been avoiding all of them since, showing up sometimes in town for quests, but then he'd be gone for a while. He was always in areas where he couldn't be tracked, and with Asuna being the Vice Commander of the newly formed Knights of the Blood Oath, no one had time to actually find him and ask him what was wrong. Even Klein couldn't get him to talk, but he figured it had to do with the guild he had joined.

Finally making it out of the cave, he was greet with the bright rays of the sun. He used his arm to block the light for a bit as his eyes got used to it. The soft crunch of the sand under his boots filled his ears. He stopped walking after awhile, just watching the waves. They reminded him of home. Venice Beach had been near his home, so he had always found the time to go, even with his sister being gone, or his parents being busy. There were times when his Mother would go with him, but most of the time he'd go alone.

After his accident however, he tried staying away from the beach entirely. His so called friends had ditched him, his girlfriend had left him, so it took away his love of the sea. He'd remained a recluse since then, skipping school for weeks on end and just sleeping the day away. Of course, his dad had hired tutors for him, but even then he wouldn't wake up until late. Eventually they moved to Japan for his father's business and he decided to stay there permanently. Being in Sword Art Online, it opened his eyes to beauty of the world. Even if this was a game, he could enjoy himself...but now that one of the major hitters was gone from the front lines, he had to at least step up to the plate and fill his spot. He had promised himself, that no matter how much he loved the game world, he'd fight to free his friends.

A message alert brought him out of his musings, he sighed and opened it, seeing it was from Sapphira. He quickly glanced at it, grimacing a bit from what was written.

" _Hey Akira, its been a few days since we've spoken. I've noticed that you've been avoiding the beach this entire time. Rumor has it that your not even staying in Honolucia, you're actually going back to Panereze. Now, here's the purpose of this message, I want you to come with me and Aries and relax on the beach with our friends. You have no option and if you deny it, I will find you. Just be lucky the Ethics Code is on, or else I would literally cut your balls off. And trust me, its not so hard to manipulate a persons Menu when their asleep. So, you have Fifteen minutes after this message to meet us at the beach, and if you don't...well..I'm sure you remember Aries's particular weapon of choice."_

"This woman is trying to kill me." he muttered to himself.

Since opening the 26th floor, they had all been hanging out more, and level grinding on their off time. Morrison was actually coming around, and his previous comments about Sapphira being a beater ceased. Sure, sometimes there were the teasing ones, but those were among friends. Nick had been busy doing his own thing, mostly leveling up his Two Handed Sword skills. Sasha was the only one who didn't stick around much, sure she did party with them for quests and the more difficult missions on certain floors, including the Super Boss on the 29th floor, but she usually steered clear of friendly gatherings. He wondered why, but he wasn't one to pry.

Deciding that it was better off to go along with Sapphira rather than run and have her attack him, Akira set his course toward Honolucia Beach. That however didn't stop him from thinking of ways he could avoid it.

"Maybe I can find a good hiding place in the Teens, a cave where I can't get hurt and I'm out of the search radius. There was that nice one on the 14th floor...nah, she'd still find a way to find me." he muttered to himself. He waved to a few people who greeted him, at least it was better to be known as a strong individual rather than a murderer.

It didn't take him long to find Sapphira. In fact, it was rather easy to find her. She had her long green hair down instead of in its usual twin tails. She was wearing a two piece bikini, which was a lime green color. It had little frills around the breast area, and a few flowers on it. The bottom was tied on, the laces being done in perfect bows. Of course since it was the menu that allowed you to equip it, you'd get perfect bows all the time. She shook her head, giving him a once over.

"Seriously? You're geared up?" she asked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"I asked you to come here to relax, why are you still geared up?" she asked sternly.

"I just came back from clearing a dungeon. Obviously I'd still have my gear on. The hell's the point in relaxing here? If we get used to it, no ones gonna want to leave when the floor is cleared." he said.

"Well, we haven't found the labyrinth yet. So why not just take some time off?" she asked.

"We've taken three weeks. Can we start taking this seriously and get with the program?" he asked.

"Listen, I don't know what the issue is, but you know damn well that you have to relax in this game or else your stress levels will make you pass out. It happened to Asuna back on the 28th floor, remember?" she asked firmly. He sighed.

"Fine, I'll relax. But after today, I'm going back to clearing this floor." he said firmly. He opened his menu and went to his mannequin. He pulled off all of his armor, and put on some purple and black swim trunks he had bought the first day Honolucia was unlocked. He closed his menu, crossing his arms.

"There's the spirit. Lets go meet up with Aries, she said she was going to buy a ball or something. Oh, and Sasha is coming along too." she said, leading him down to a more secluded area of the beach.

"You guys were able to get Sasha to come along? That's a miracle. She won't show up for anything unless the words Monster or Quest are mentioned."

"Oh, she decided to show up because we gave her some motivation." she said, a smirk on her face. Akira cringed. He was kind of scared to know what kind of motivation she spoke of.

The area that Sapphira had chosen was where most of the assault team members gathered. Some of them could be seen relaxing, while others were in groups, talking about the perfect areas to level up on the 34th floor. Some even discussed theories on where the Labyrinth could be. Sapphira stopped by some beach chairs, where a pink bag was placed. She grabbed it and started digging through it, muttering things to herself. She finally found what she wanted, a smile on her face.

"Great, Akira rub some sunscreen on me." she said, tossing him the green bulb shaped bottle. He stared at it oddly.

"There's sunscreen in this game? What the fuck for? It's not like our avatars will get sunburn." he said firmly.

"Goddamn it, just do it will you?" she shouted, earning several looks from the nearby players.

Rather than argue, Akira just uncorked the bottle, pouring the weird looking yellow liquid into his hands. He set the bottle down on the chair and started rubbing the lotion on Sapphira's skin. Surely she would be seeing the Harassment messages from him doing that, but she didn't seem to care.

"Watch your hands buddy. Any closer and I'll maim you. I don't mind going orange for a few hours." she snapped, making him lower his hands a bit. The quicker he did this, the better.

"So...any idea where the labyrinth could be?" he asked, trying to make conversation. The green haired girl shrugged, holding her hair tightly as to not let it get smeared with lotion.

"It could be anywhere. The fact that none of us have found it was what bothers me. Unless we hit a spot where we can't move on until the next version gets patched. I don't know if they can do that with us logged in." she said.

"They can do the same thing they did on the first day, put us in a sort of comatose state to patch it with the new data. But I doubt that'd be a thing, I feel like Kayaba planned for the long run of this. So he has to have all 100 floors ready to be cleared." he said, finishing the area in the middle of her back, he moved down to her legs, looking at the sand instead of at her.

"Right right...I just want to understand why he did this. What was his need, his purpose?"

"Guess that's a question we can ask him once we clear the Ruby Palace." he said with a smirk.

"Hey guys, sorry I took so long."

Akira looked up, seeing Aries run to them, several pool toys in her hands. She had bought a blue life saver with white clouds printed on it. She also had a few pool noodles and a rainbow colored beach ball. She set them on the sand, allowing him to see her white colored bikini. While Sapphira's had been a bit simple, Aries had quite a lot of detail on it. Hers had frills around the sides of it, and it tied in a bow in the front. The bottom was a simple one piece, with a frilly hem. She also had white heeled sandals on, which wrapped around her ankles.

"Hey Aries...you look so cute in that swim suit. I told you it went well with your skin color." Sapphira said excitedly, batting away Akira's hands, which were still covered in sunscreen. Aries giggled a bit, brushing a bit of pink hair out of her eyes.

"Yeah, I thought so too, and it was cheap, only 40,000 Col."

"Jesus Christ up in Heaven. You spent 40,000 col on that swimsuit?" Akira shouted, clearly taken aback. The girl eeped, hiding behind Sapphira, almost as if she had been caught taking a cookie from the cookie jar.

"I-I-did..but."

"My god, I cannot understand why women just like blowing money on clothes. 40,000 Col could have bought you a decent weapon, some decent armor, hell it could have bought you a small house on the 22nd floor. But here you are spending it on a swimsuit." he said firmly.

"Back off Akira. Just because you want to clear the game doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves. What happened to getting out and smelling the roses?" she asked.

"I haven't seen a single rose in this entire game." he said, crossing his arms.

"I don't think she meant it the literal way." a new voice said.

Akira looked at the new arrival, eyes bulging from his skull a bit. It was Sasha, who had arrived a little late to the meeting. She was carrying an orange tote bag, filled with what he assumed was her beach things. She was wearing a bright orange bikini top, with a Phoenix print over her right breast. She wore a black bikini bottom, which brought out her skin color perfectly. Her long orange hair was still done in its usual ponytail, though she had it to the side this time, and it ended right below the waist. To him she looked absolutely stunning. She must have noticed because she adopted a playful smirk. She stopped in front of him, tracing her finger over his jaw line.

"You know its rude to stare." she said.

"Alright, enough messing with him Sasha. Just set your stuff there and lets hit the water." Sapphira said, grabbing Akira's arm and pulling him along.

"I'll be right there, I gotta take my sandals off." Aries said, earning a nod from the green haired girl. Sasha giggled once she was out of ear shot.

"I think she's jealous." she said.

"Jealous?" Aries asked, clearly confused. Sasha looked at the sky, deep in thought.

"How do I put it, um...it's when a girl or a guy like another person, but there's this other person, sometimes cooler or prettier than them attracting the attention of the person they like." she said.

"Oh...Geloso...sorry. Sometimes, Japanese words confuse me." she admitted.

"It's alright sweetheart. I'll try not to confuse you...but...it's a little interesting to know Sapphira has a romantic interest for Akira. I mean, I would expect her to, since she was with him since day one. But I didn't think she'd get possessive of him." she said.

"He is rather nice. He seems uninterested most of the time though, but he won't hesitate to help you if you need it." Aries said, a little blush on her face.

"Hmm, maybe I'll get to know him better." Sasha replied, moving toward the surf, lost in her own thoughts.

"What the hell was that?" Sapphira said, turning back to Akira who still had a bit of a dazed look on his face.

"What was what?"

"Jeez, you saw Sasha and froze up like a total idiot. Do you like her or something?" she asked, fuming a bit.

"I dunno...I don't think I can focus on someone when I'm trying to clear floors." he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but if you ogled her a little more, I'm sure your eyes would have jumped out of your skull." she deadpanned.

"So? You said relax right? I might as well enjoy the view." he said, glancing at a few girls who were walking by. They giggled and gave him a wave as they passed by, making him smile a bit.

"Ugh...men, their unbelievable." Sapphira said with a huff.

"I disagree Mademoiselle Sapphira, I believe men are quite reliable yes?"

"Morrison, what are you doing here?" Akira asked, glancing at his friend who had randomly appeared beside them. He was wearing a black swim trunks. He had a towel wrapped around his neck.

"Nick found all of you on the map so we figured it was time for a little break. We've been on the 33rd floor grinding for a while, hoping to be strong enough for the boss, but we came back and no one has found the room." he said, a bit dejected.

"I've walked through every dungeon on this floor, but found nothing. You...haven't seen Kirito have you? I haven't heard from him in a while, he doesn't even reply to my messages." he said, earning a head shake from the teen.

"Sorry, I haven't seen him. Perhaps Nick has...ah, here he comes." he said, glancing at the brown haired teen. Akira groaned, seeing what he was wearing a bright blue Speedo, and earning several laughs from the people he passed. The teen seemed to take it all in stride. He stopped before his friends, snapping his towel at Morrison's ass, making him shy back a bit.

"Sup fellas. Damn Sapphira, you're looking fine."

"Ugh...even worse. I'm gonna go in the water." she said, hastily walking off. Aries and Sasha met up with them, watching the green haired girl literally dive into the surf.

"What's her deal?" Nick asked.

"I don't know. She got all jealous because Akira was ogling Sasha." Aries said with a shit eating grin, earning a blush from said teen.

"I was not ogling. I was...admiring...yeah." he said, quite unsure of himself.

"Well whatever, lets just enjoy the day. We don't have to worry about anything, at least for a bit." the javelin user said, walking off toward the water.

"Come on guys, lets have some fun." Aries said, pulling Akira and Morrison with her. Nick rolled his eyes and followed along.

Akira was at least thankful for having so many good friends. While they were all having a splash fest, or hitting each other with pool noodles, he got enough time to reflect on his time in Aincrad. While most thought the game was a curse, he thought otherwise. He was glad to have gotten stuck in the game, because he at least has such great friends like them.

" _It's been forever since we decided to party up like we did back on the 25_ _th_ _. We only did that for the 29_ _th_ _and the 31_ _st_ _Floors. Maybe its time to ask them, if they'd be willing to form a guild."_

A wave of water hit him in the face, making him cough loudly. His eyes stung a bit and he looked at the assailant, who was hiding behind Nick.

"Aries...you know it sucks having salt water in your eyes right?" he asked sternly.

"Uh...it was an accident Akira. I didn't mean it." she said.

"You're about to get it, Nick hold her down." he said with a smile.

"You got it boss. Sorry miss, but you're not going anywhere." he said, holding her arms behind her back.

"Ahh, no...I'm sorry...please it was an accident." the girl cried, wriggling in Nick's firm grasp.

"Too bad, now its your turn." he said, using his Martial Arts Skill to send a large blast of water at the mace wielder. She cried in pain, the lukewarm water soaked her to the bone. Akira let out a laugh, holding his stomach.

"Oh yeah, lets see how you like this." Aries cried, tackling the teen into the water. Both of them started wrestling, splashing each other when they had the chance.

"This is great, how long do you think the durability on her top is?" Nick asked. Morrison glanced at him, brows furrowed.

"Why would you want to know that Monsieur Nicholas?" he asked.

"Because idiot. You've never seen titties? It's the perfect chance." he said, rubbing his hands evilly.

"Yo Akira, German Suplex." Sapphira cried loudly, pumping her fist in the air. The teen seemed to heed her request, and wrapped his arms around Aries's waist.

"No, Akira please. I don't know if my top has enough durability." Aries pleaded, but it was ignored by the teen. He lifted the girl with ease, slamming her into the water, causing a loud splash. Sapphira laughed loudly, low fiving Nick who was also egging them on. Akira surfaced, shaking the water out of his hair.

"Man, that was great. You okay Aries?" he asked. He looked around for the pink haired Italian girl, a bit worried. She finally surfaced, brushing the water out of her eyes.

"Akira you idiota, I told you to be careful, this swimsuit doesn't have much durability." she said, just as the bikini top shattered into pixels, flying away on the wind. Her eyes went wide and she screamed, covering her chest. Blood burst from Nick's nose, and the Bleed Status appeared beside his HP screen. He fell back in the water, completely out of it.

"See what you do idiot?" Sapphira said.

"You're the one who fucking told me to Suplex her." he shouted.

"Alright alright, lets just cover her up." Sasha replied, using her arms to cover the pink haired girl up, Sapphira did the same. The sound of a menu being opened filled their ears.

"Hey Aries, I'm sorry alright. I didn't mean to make your top burst." he said, rubbing his neck.

"It's alright Akira. You didn't hear me, I'm just sad I wasted 40,000 col on this." she said, finally getting a new swimsuit on, this time a one piece blue suit, which hugged her curves perfectly.

"I'll pay you back later alright? Why don't we just get out of the water for now?" he asked. Everyone agreed, walking out of the water. Morrison and Sasha dragged Nick out of the water, leaving a trail of pixelated blood in their wake.

Akira was quick enough to claim one of the beach chairs near the palm trees. Sapphira was on the sand, tanning her back, even though he doubted her skin color would change since it was virtual sunlight. Nick was still out of it, and Aries was flushed with embarrassment. Morrison returned with a basket, which was filled with sandwiches. He set them down, a small smile on his face.

"This is the best NPC made food on this floor. A lot of players said it was really good...everyone take one." he said.

"Thanks man." Nick said, suddenly sitting up. He grabbed his sandwich and tore into it, sighing contently at the taste of the food.

"Leave it to him to react only when food is present." Sasha said, grabbing one and handing it to Aries, who whispered a thank you to her. Akira grabbed his own and unwrapped it, leaning back in his chair. He nodded to himself mid bite.

" _I guess now's a good time as any."_

"Hey guys, I wanted to talk to you all about something. It's sort of important." he said, after he swallowed his food.

"What's wrong? Who did you impregnate?" Nick asked.

"What...no one retard. People can't have kids in SAO." he said firmly. He shook his head.

"That aside...I was wondering, since we all seem to work well together, how about we..I dunno...start a guild?" he asked.

"A guild?" Aries asked, brow raised.

"Yeah...we work well as a team, and if we start a guild, then we can take more elite requests from the townspeople and work better. We wouldn't have to venture into the wilderness alone. We'd always have a partner to watch our backs. We'd be like...a family." he said, a small smile on his face.

"Family huh?" Sasha muttered.

"Hmm, sounds like a sweet deal Akira. Thing is, managing a guild isn't all peaches and gumdrops. Its hard work, are you saying you have what it takes to be our leader?" Sapphira asked.

"I think so. I don't think it's gonna be that hard. Besides, I got a prime Beta Tester here to help me when I need it." he said.

"Okay...say we start this guild...what would it be called?" Nick asked, head propped on his hand.

"I was thinking...maybe Rising Phoenix."

"That's...not a bad name actually. The Phoenix is a symbol of life in some old cultures of the world. Plenty of people thought the sun was actually a Phoenix in disguise. We'd be like a light, a beacon of hope for those on the lower floors." Sapphira said.

"I'm completely digging this idea. We can pool our money together and buy a house here. We'd have access to the beach for the rest of the game." Morrison said.

"I don't think so. If we have our HQ here, then we'd be tempted to spend our time here at the Beach. I want our HQ to be in a place where a lot of people have easy access too. A place where we can feel at home. After all, we're gonna be like a family." Akira said firmly.

"Well...we could search for the labyrinth and clear it out...we can get a place up on the 35th floor. I don't know what kind of floor it's going to be, but who knows? There might be some prime Real Estate locations. Besides, I've been wanting to try my Negotiation Skills." Sapphira said with a bright smile.

"I can't believe those exist." Nick muttered under his breath, taking a bite from his sandwich.

"I think it's a perfect idea. What do you think Sasha?" Aries asked, the orange haired girl remained silent.

"Is...something wrong Sasha?" Akira asked, worried about his friend.

"I don't think I can join another guild Akira." she said, after a few minutes of silence.

"Another? You were in a guild already?" Sapphira asked. This was the first time any of them had heard this. She nodded, brushing some lose orange hairs from her face.

"Back on the 4th Floor, me and my friends from school formed a guild. It was one of the first five that appeared in Aincrad. It was called the Scarlet Lilies." she said, a frown on her face.

"Oh...I remember that guild. I heard from some people on the Seventh Floor that there was this six girl guild that went into a dungeon and fell in a pitfall trap. Only one person made it out, but no one knew who she was." Morrison said, looking sad himself. Sasha nodded, a tear running down her cheek.

"I was the one who was leading them. Monica, Grace, Daniella, Sakura and Karen. All of us were well equipped, ready to take on the dungeon the clearers left behind for the beginner level players to tackle. They saw a treasure chest in the room in front of us and decided to run ahead..that's when it happened. Monica tripped the trap, and they all fell down. I was the only one who didn't. I made it to the edge, just in time to see two of them burst into pixelated data. Sakura and Grace...they were the first to go. Monica, Daniella and Karen were all struggling to hold on, each hanging on to each other's legs. I couldn't pull all of them up, I wasn't strong enough. Karen ended up letting go, saying that she was glad to have met us all and that she wasn't going to weigh us down, it was either her or all of them. Daniella did the same. I tried pulling Monica out, but she had been so distraught.

She had been the leader, she was the one that told me to lead them for that dungeon, and she let go of my hand, saying she couldn't live with the guilt. I lay there, numb after everything that happened. In a split second, I lost every friend I had. Watching as they all hit the ground and broke into nothing more than polygonal shapes. All of them...my friends...my little sister...I failed all of them. That's when I decided to end my life as well..but then, this little girl with a dragon stopped me from jumping. She said she wasn't about to watch another person commit suicide ever again. She told me she had considered doing the same thing several times, but ever since she met her dragon, and this other boy who saved her life, she was fighting. Fighting to get free...I listened to her advice, and I started power leveling, so I could be come strong for them. For my little sister Keisha, who I failed by not being able to stop her." she said, finally finishing her story.

Akira just sat there, unable to say a word. Aries was crying too, consoling the warrior who had all but broken down. Sapphira sighed, looking to the sky as if it had all the answers she was seeking. Morrison and Nick just remained silent. He knew they'd lost someone to the game as well. That's when Akira stood up, he took Sasha's hand, grasping it firmly in his own. She looked at him, green eyes still wet with tears. He brushed them away with his hand, a gentle smile on his face.

"Sasha, you didn't fail your sister. No one knew about the trap, and no one knew what would happen. I learned a long time ago, that blaming ourselves for the deaths of others in this world, only serves as our downfall. We won't think straight, and that drives us to become weak. Level isn't everything, you have to be able to stomach that guilt, and use it to further yourself. You need to hold your head out high, and scream to the sky, I will beat this game.

And you will, you'll beat this game for your friends, and you'll make it out to the real world, and you'll see Keisha again. Maybe not in the same way that you remember her, but one day you will meet each other again, whether real or virtual, or spiritual. You will meet each other again...you have friends now, we'll help each other out. I'll make sure you make it out of here alive, so you can be with her again. Even if she's gone, she's still in your heart." he said.

Her lip quivered and she started crying again, she wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. He smiled a bit, and rubbed her back, reassuring her that she'd be fine.

"So, how about it?" he asked again, once she had settled down.

"Yeah Sasha, I don't think we can start a guild if we're missing our prime Javelin user. After all, you did a fuckload of damage to Cerberus with that one Javelin Skill." Nick said.

"It wouldn't be the same without you Mademoiselle Sasha." Morrison said as well. She looked at all of her friends, nodding in agreement. Akira smiled.

"Alright then, let it be known that from this day forward, we are no longer Solo Players, but are all members of this guild. We will protect not only each other, but those who are defenseless against the wilderness of this game. We will help those in need, even if we have to risk our lives to do so. We are Rising Phoenix, and we will clear this game." he said, putting his hand outward.

"Yeah." they all chanted, placing their hands on top of his own. And just like that, their new guild was born.

Xxx

"Whoa wait a minute, you mean to tell me that instead of relaxing on the beach you wanted to hunt monsters?" Alicia asked, giving Akira an incredulous look.

"Of course, I couldn't slack off. Kirito was going through some rough shit during that time, so I had to step up and help clear dungeons." Akira said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yet somehow I get blamed for Aries's swimsuit." Sapphira said, looking a bit dejected.

"Well you did tell him to do a suplex." Rain added, earning a glare from her. They all stopped talking, turning to Sakuya who was still giggling to herself. Alicia looked at her, her ears wiggling a bit.

"What's so funny Sakuya?"

"I'm sorry, just the image of Nick in a speedo is too funny. I've met him before, but I never imagined him doing something like that." she said, clutching her sides.

"Jeez, if you want to see him do that then head on to the beach area of Alfheim. That bastard is always there, stalking girls as if they were prey. The kid is never getting a girlfriend." Akira said, shaking his head.

"I doubt it, remember that girl he met in Grandzam? I think she's interested in him." Sapphira said.

"What, you mean Serah? She actually likes that dumb fuck? Man I have got to have a little chat with her. Anyway, we're up to our first quest as a guild. Rising Phoenix made their first mark in Aincrad by taking out the 34th Floor's Boss. The Kraken!" he said ominously. Rain shivered a bit, shaking in her seat.

"Wait, so there truly was a Kraken in SAO? Sakuya told me you had a bet going on, did you win?" Alicia asked curiously.

"Oh yes I did, one million col. It was such a great day for me." he said, about to finish his sandwich. Sapphira batted it out of his hand, causing him to cry in shock. The sandwich hit the ground, bursting into polygons seconds later.

"My sandwich. It was innocent!" he whispered, looking at the spot where the morsel had landed.

"Serves you right asshole." the green haired girl said, though it fell on deaf ears.

"Um...Akira, are you okay?" Rain asked.

"Shh...I must grieve." he said.

"You can have mine if you want. I'm not really that hungry." she said, pushing her plate forward. His face lit up as he snagged the half eaten sandwich off the plate, taking a bite out of it.

"Phamk You!" he replied, causing her to giggle.

"Anyway, I think I came up with a solution on how you can beat Hayato...you ever here of the Burning Sword?" Sakuya asked, earning a head shake from the violet haired teen.

"What's the Burning Sword?" Sapphira asked curiously.

"Well supposedly, there's a dungeon said to lead to Valhalla itself. If you complete the quest, 'To Defeat a Champion', you'll get an item that will let you go into Valhalla. Apparently, you can find a legendary weapon in the depths of the dungeon. The Burning Sword, Ascalon." Sakuya replied. This information captivated their attention.

"You mean to tell me there's a weapon out there just as strong as Excalibur?" Akira said.

"Mhmm...it supposedly takes a one handed sword skill of 985 to Equip it. This is all a rumor though, so I'm not sure how accurate it is."

"A 985 skill level huh? My one handed sword is only at 500, I would need to power level that skill through constant fighting. Sakuya, I know you want to defeat Illfang with the rest of the Boss Raid but, would you mind coming with me? You can come too Alicia." he said, glancing at the Cait Sith player.

"Normally, I would turn you down, but I guess I do owe you a favor for that fight you and Kirito handled. I'd be honored to tag along."

"Same here, the second best player in SAO is about to wreck someones shit, and I want front row seats to the show!" Alicia said joyously.

"I am offended! How is this idiot the second best player in SAO? What about me?" Sapphira cried out.

"I'm sorry, did you reach level 102 by the time the game was cleared?" Alicia asked.

"Well no...but.."

"Exactly, I rest my case." the Cait Sith leader said, adopting a catty smirk.

"Now now, let's not fight. We can head out now." Akira said, sending a party request to the two girls.

"Just so you know Rain, in all my time in ALO, which isn't much mind you, I have never seen Sakuya draw that sword. People say she beat the previous Sylph leader without even pulling it from the scabbard. So if you ever see her even start to draw it, shit's about to get serious." Sapphira said, making the redhead gulp.

"Not to worry dear...unless you cross me, I doubt I'll ever use my sword against you...maybe." she said, giving her a wink.

"Now now, let's not scare the shit out of her. So where's this quest located again?"

"Jotunheimer, there's a path that will lead us to a small village. The Quest NPC should be there, but like I said this is all based on a rumor. Don't get your hopes up." She said.

"Hey, if we can't get Ascalon, we can always go after Excalibur, if it's still there." Sapphira said, remembering what their mutual friend had told them.

"Pfft, as if, that sword belongs to someone else and you know it. Besides, that dick weed Hayato most likely has it. Once I defeat him, I'll force him to put that sword back. He doesn't deserve a Holy Sword, let alone be a player of this game. Lead the way Sakuya." he said, earning a nod from the black haired woman.

"Hey, how about you tell Rain about our first quest as a guild? I'm sure Rue wants to hear it too." Sapphira said.

"Sure, I'm up for another story." Alicia said, a grin on her face.

"Damn, and I was so looking forward to educating her on what a Sith Lord is." he said, earning a laugh from the others.


	11. Aincrad Arc: Finding the Labyrinth

**A/N: Hey guys, Celestial Sky Dragon here bringing you another adventure packed chapter of Sword Art Online, The Violet Assassin!**

 **I really liked how the next two chapters came out, so I'm going to be doing another double post this week. I probably won't post anything tomorrow, depending on how everything turns out. But so far people are liking it, though my views are pretty low. This will be the final chapter of the Secret Elite, as Chapter 12 is going to be completely new. This chapter would in fact be chapter Ten of The Secret Elite, which just got edited and got some new stuff at the end with Akira and Rain.**

 **Speaking of that, I wanna know how that's going, are you enjoying the IRL and ALO parts of the story? When I started writing this, I wanted it to be a straight SAO fic, but then I decided to have Akira telling his story instead. I thought it would give it a bit more diversity. Also as I'm writing, I realize that Akira is starting to turn into abridged Kirito. I have no idea how it happened but in the later chapters you'll understand. Still I want you guys to give me your opinions and thoughts.**

 **I have also decided I will go through with my idea of everyone clearing Floor 100. It won't be exactly like SAO Hollow Fragment, but all of the Floors will be the same as the game. I'm not sure if the scenarios will be the same. Leafa and Sinon will not be in it, because honestly them being in Hollow Fragment in the first place was just fucking stupid. That was just a way to get those two in there. If it just stayed SAO with all of the people that were there, then it would have been fine. The only person I don't mind being there is Yuuki, because I sort of understand the Cardinal Glitching out ended up mistaking all FullDive devices as a Nerve Gear, so it makes a little sense. As for Leafa and Sinon, it was a bit of a stretch.**

 **Anyway, I shall leave you with the first of two chapters...hope you enjoy. and remember, if you get hungry, snap into a Slim Jim.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 11

Finding the Labyrinth

 _(Tuesday August 1_ _st_ _2023, 2:00PM Location: Honolucia Beach 34_ _th_ _Floor)_

It had been a day since the birth of Rising Phoenix. Akira had taken care of all the official paperwork, and had signed everything. Now, all of his friends were part of the guild, and he was their leader, with Sapphira being his second in command should anything happen. Every time he looked at his HP bar, he saw the orange guild marker above it. Their symbol was simple, it was a Phoenix taking into the air, with its flaming wings brightening up the area behind it. Now, he stood at the spot where they had all become a guild, just staring out into the waves. It was cloudy today, so not a lot of people were at the beach. It seemed as if it was going to rain.

That was one thing he loved about Aincrad, its weather was almost never guaranteed. He loved the sunlight, relished in the rain and hid when it was cold. He wondered if there was a floor where it was just day time, or one where it was dark. He'd love to see that, a Floor where it was night time all the time. He could only hope.

That's when he saw it. The pillar, the tell tell sign of the labyrinth. It was way in the distance, out at sea. Because it was always sunny, and the sun was in that area, one couldn't see it. But now that it was cloudy, it was clear as day. The labyrinth was in the water. An underwater dungeon. He opened up his menu, hitting the guild button. This would allow him to send a message out to all his members. He typed out a quick message, telling them to meet up where the Phoenix was born and hit send. He equipped all of his battle gear, putting away his casual clothes.

" _How could I have been so damn stupid. Of course the labyrinth's location would be out at sea. It makes sense...a Beach themed floor, with an underwater dungeon and an underwater boss..man..it's a good thing I maxed out my swimming skill when we unlocked Panereze."_

"Hey, why the sudden roll call? I thought we were all taking in town quests for easy experience." Sapphira said, appearing beside him. He turned to her, a smile on his face.

"Guys, I figured out our first major task as a guild. We're going to clear out the labyrinth." he said, looking back out at the distant pillar. Nick's eyes widened a bit, and he clicked his tongue.

"Goddamn. How obvious can you fucking get?" he shouted.

"I gotta admit. Kayaba is good when it comes to coding this shit. Making it so the sun shined over it, so we couldn't directly look at it. He's good...but we're better. Gear up ladies and gents, because we're going there." Akira said.

"What? Are we swimming there?" Morrison asked.

"Nope. We're gonna rent a Gondola." he said, pointing at the boardwalk, where several boats were tied up. A few NPC's could be seen, loading and unloading things off of them. Aries's eyes sparkled brightly.

"Oh, I love Gondolas. I can still see myself, riding with my nonno through the canals of Venezia." she said, clasping her hands together.

"Alright then, if everyone is geared up, lets head out." Akira said, leading his team toward the boardwalk.

Even with the crappy looking weather, the boardwalk was still full of people, player and NPC alike. The NPC vendors were still just as excited, shouting out the prices for their wares. A few people were playing some of the games, trying to win prizes for their friends or loved ones. Akira wanted to try the claw machine, but Sasha tugged him away, saying he should act more like a guild leader and not a four year old.

They made it to the end of the boardwalk, where the Gondola rentals could be done. There was a short old man, dressed in a sleeveless shirt. He was wearing brown pants and boots. He was currently carrying things out of the Gondola. The Italian boat was wide enough to fit all of them, so he was sure there wasn't a problem. He cleared his throat, attracting his attention.

"Hello there sir, I was wondering if we could rent this Gondola from you. We were hoping to make it to the labyrinth." he said.

"The labyrinth? You kids must be crazy. I'm not renting my gondola to you."

"But what not? I wanted to sail to the labyrinth and pretend it was back home in Venezia." Aries cried out, clearly upset.

"Listen little miss, there is no man alive who will sail out to that place. That's where... _he_ lives." he replied, clearly scared.

" _He_?" Nick asked, clearly confused.

"He means White Fang." a gruff voice replied.

Foot steps could be heard from behind him, though one of them was clearly a limp. They all turned around to face the new comer. It was a man, most likely in his early fifties, with a bit of tan skin. He had a gray scraggly beard, along with a wrinkled face. His bright blue eyes seemed to put everyone off a bit. He was wearing a white striped shirt, with a leather coat over it, along with lose pants and buckle boots. He had a hat on his head, which was black in color and had a long feather coming from the side. There was a rapier sheathed to his waist. His face bore a serious expression. Akira cleared his throat.

"Who's White Fang?" he asked. The man smiled, bearing his yellow teeth.

"White Fang? Why he be the ruler of the seas. There ain't a man alive who has the gull to sail in those waters. Not when White Fang is out there, waiting for his pray." he said.

"So, White Fang is a creature huh? Is it a Shark or something?"

"No one knows for sure...but what is known is that ye who seen him, have only seen it before their claimed by the sea, souls lost to Davy Jones locker. Only one man survived an encounter with him, at the cost of his leg." he said. They all glanced down at the man's peg leg, eyes widening a bit.

"That man was you wasn't it?" Sapphira asked.

"Aye. Twas back when I was a lad, just getting my sea legs..me ship was attacked, me crew died at the jaws of it. I survived, but he took me leg in a fierce battle, but I got him good, right in the eye. Ever since then, he's become more vicious, waiting for the day when I return to finish him off." he said firmly.

"So, does that mean you can take us there? We need to reach that pillar." Akira said, pointing at the faraway labyrinth. The man looked them over, a smirk on his face.

"Climb aboard if ye think ye can take him on, but be warned. White Fang will claim anyone, even the finest of ladies." he said, laughing wildly. They all looked at the dock, seeing a large pirate ship docked there. How they had missed that was beyond them. What they did notice was that the ship was completely charred black, and it had black sails, along with black ropes.

"Hmm, I somehow feel like I've seen this ship before." Nick said.

"Methinks Kayaba is a major Cinephile." Akira said.

"Come on, we're burning daylight. And brain cells." Sapphira said, walking toward the gangplank. Akira followed suit, with the rest of his guild behind.

"Alright men, put your backs into it you foxy turds. We be sailing to the white waters, White Fang is getting his today. Half Canvas." The captain issued out, his crew heartily replied, and begun the preparations to set sail.

"This is so cool, I've always wanted to be a pirate. Arg." Nick said, closing an eye and making a hook out his finger.

"No...just no." Sapphira cried, walking off.

"Oi kid, come up here to the wheel." the Captain called out, receiving a nod from Akira. He walked up the steps, standing next to the man.

"I don't think I ever caught your name Captain."

"It's Morgan." he said, a smile on his face.

"Captain Morgan...hmm...that would explain quite a lot." Akira muttered under his breath.

"I take it you be the leader of this little crew of yours eh? You look like fine pirates if you ask me. Especially the greenie with the long sword." he said.

"Yeah, we all started a guild just now. Sapphira there is my Second in Command. I figured we could try to clear out the labyrinth, but now with this White Fang in front of us, I figure we can try to help you. You're being generous and giving us a ride."

"Nonsense boy. We needed a reason to sail again, and this be the perfect occasion. Just sit back, we'll be at his part of the sea in two hours tops." he said.

"Alright, thanks Captain. If you need help, don't hesitate to call." he said, leaving the man's side.

He walked back down to the main deck, over to where his team was standing. Nick was trying and failing to talk like a pirate, and was clearly annoying the hell out of Sapphira. Morrison looked green, so Aries was rubbing his back, and Sasha just seemed entranced by the waves. He stood by her, leaning back against the railing.

"It's so surreal, seeing that this is all a game. I never thought I'd sail with freaking pirates." she said.

"Yeah...it's surreal. That's why I want to clear this floor. I want to see what's beyond this one. I want to see what the 35th floor will have." he said, a smile on his face.

"Not many people can say their excited to see the next floor. Not a lot of people even want to explore. They just want to waste their time in the Town of Beginnings." she said.

"7,453 people are left in SAO. The death toll is still quite high...I wonder when it will stop altogether. I just...can't see people die anymore." he said firmly. She took his hand in her own, a smile in her face.

"Hey, none of that. You cheered me up yesterday, so I'll do the same for you. Lets just focus on clearing this labyrinth. Afterwards, we'll pool our money together and buy the first good place in the 35th floor." she said. He nodded, a chuckle escaping his lips. This earned a confused look from his friends.

"What's funny?" Nick asked.

"The fact that in this game, I have to work for my money. Back in the real world, I come from a wealthy family. I can have anything I want at the drop of a hat...yet here...it's more rewarding...going out and working for a living. Is this what my dad feels when he goes to New York for business? I wonder." he asked, mostly to himself.

"I thought it was taboo to talk about the real world." Sapphira said.

"Eh, I guess it's fine once and awhile. What about you Sapph, who are you in the real world?" he asked curiously.

"Me? I'm no one special. I live in Tokyo, the daughter of two farmers...I often stay with my Grandmother in the city, but I go back to work the fields with my parents. I'm in middle school, eighth grade...well..used to be. I found out I wasn't passing the year, that's kinda why I applied for the Beta Test of SAO. They were giving out money to those who participated in the Closed Beta and reviewed it as well..we got preorders early, and 20,000 Yen. Just enough to pay the summer course...but then all of this happened. I guess whenever it is I do get out, I won't only have to learn what I missed, but I'll have to repeat the year. I'll be older than everyone there." she said sadly.

"Hey, don't worry about that. When we all make it out of this game, I'll pay for your summer course."

"What? No...you don't have too." she said.

"Please...did you completely miss me saying I was rich? I won't take no for an answer." he said firmly. She giggled and nodded.

"Fine...and thanks."

"Sure...thing is well...I probably won't be the same when I get out of here." he said dejectedly.

"Why is that?" Morrison asked..he wasn't green anymore, meaning he must have gotten over his sea sickness.

"Oh right, you said you were in a wheel chair, back on the Fifth Floor." Sapphira asked.

"Seriously, what happened?" Sasha asked, concern clear in her voice.

"Well...months before this whole SAO thing happened...I had an accident. I wasn't watching where I was going and I got hit by a car."

"Dio Mio." Aries cried out, clearly not expecting that answer.

"Well are you alright?" Nick asked. He shook his head.

"The car's front bumper hit me right on the side. I broke three ribs, my arm and wrist, as well as my femur in three places. It also broke three vertebrae in my lower back, a few fragments of them nearly severed my spinal cord." he said.

"So...you're paralyzed from the waist down?" Sasha asked, earning a nod.

"I'm so sorry." Sapphira said, reassuring her friend.

"It's alright. I'm used to it now but in those dark months after, all of my friends left me. My girlfriend left me, saying I wasn't worthy of her presence. So I entered this depression phase...my doctor reassured me that I would be able to walk again if I was got the surgery fast enough, but when SAO started, my surgery was most likely postponed. I mean, I doubt they could even perform it, especially with how sensitive the Nerve Gear is to all this." he said.

"Wait...if your handicapped in real life, then how can you walk in game?" Morrison asked.

"The Nerve Gear scans your body when you first calibrate it. So long as it has the necessary data, a person would be able to walk. After all, the headgear cuts nerve sensations at the base of the neck so we can't move. The necessary information would all be there." Sapphira said.

"Well man, you should know something about me too...I actually come from the North Eastern part of America, but I was actually in Oregon when all of this went down, I logged in on the Japanese server when it all went down. The thing I wanted to say was..well..I'm an Amputee." Nick said.

"What? Really?" Akira asked.

"Yup...when I was Eleven, this guy tried breaking into our house, and he had a machete. He tried going after my little sister and I stood before them, so when he swung, I covered my face. Next thing I know, I'm all covered in blood and my arm is on the floor. It was too late for them to attach it. I guess my Nerve Gear scanned my prosthetic and figured it was a real arm." he said.

"Wow...you know Akira, it was a great idea to speak about the real world. I think it brought us together as a family." Sapphira said, earning a smile from her leader.

"Yeah, that's what I want from all of this. The closer we are the better, nothing...not even Aincrad can take us down." he said confidently.

Xxx

After a few hours, Akira started to notice a haze wash over the ocean. The labyrinth was barely visible, and the clouds up above were getting ready for a storm. The ship had slowed down a great deal, and the waves became calm, unnerving him a great deal. His teammates were all ready for the worst and then some. Captain Morgan hummed next to him, looking at his compass.

"The heading was set for this area. He should have tried attacking by now." he muttered.

"Well, do you know exactly what White Fang is? Is it a Kraken?" he asked.

"T'were a Kraken, me ship and I would be in Davy Jones's locker. No, White Fang be much fiercer than that." he replied.

" _That doesn't help. Hell for all we know, we could be facing a giant man eating shark. We'd have to fight and defeat it to possibly access the labyrinth."_

"Captain, we got rocks up ahead." one of the crew members bellowed.

"Aye, full stop." he called out. All the men got to their feet, quickly pulling up the sails, slowing the ship almost to a stop.

"Anchors away, before we hit the rocks." he shouted. With a loud splash, the anchors sunk, deep into the ocean, hitting the floor underneath them. Akira looked over the railing, the waves striking the hull were foaming up a bit, but he couldn't see anything past that.

"What do you make of this?" Sapphira muttered, earning a look from him. He shrugged.

"Could be anything. Though it's odd that there would be rocks like those near the labyrinth." he said, looking out at the large rocks sticking out of the water. They were jagged and sharp, a few of them were flat enough to walk on, but with the water washing over them, they'd no doubt be quite slippery.

"Arrg, plenty a ship have struck rocks as jagged as these. The fog washes over the water, an ye ain't gonna see them until it's too late." Morgan said, appearing next to them.

"Oi boss man. I think I got an idea of what to do." Nick said, calling out from the main deck. Akira and Sapphira headed down the stairs, meeting up with the rest of their team.

"We've been brain storming for a while, and this seems like the most logical solution." Sasha added.

"Alright, lay it on me. It may shed some light on this current predicament."

"Well, I noticed that while leveling up my swimming skill, at around Level 600, another skill became available. I never said anything to anyone, because I didn't think we'd ever need it. But with the way this floor is set up, I think it will be of some use. It's called Underwater Breathing." he said, opening his skill menu.

"Yes I know, I unlocked that skill weeks ago." Akira said, earning a curious look from his friends.

"Seriously?" Morrison asked.

"Yeah, you see while I was on the 24th Floor, I decided to power level my swimming skill. I had already leveled it up half way when I was in the Coral Village. So while I was swimming, I found a shiny object and when I grabbed it, I realized there was an air bubble around my head. That's when I found out I had the Underwater Breathing skill. And you said we would never need it." he said, turning to Sapphira, who was growling under her breath.

"Obtained by leveling up Swimming. Once unlocked, the user must dive deeper and deeper while holding their breath. The longer they hold it, the bigger the air bubble will become. He's right." Morrison said.

"Yes...I tried it out a couple times and was able to get it up to level 300. You start out with a bubble the size of your head. The more you level up, the bigger it gets. At 300, its the size of a basket ball, and it lasts around ten minutes or so." he said.

"That seems like a stupid gimmick. I mean, we don't really need to breathe in SAO, whats the point of this skill?" Sapphira asked, still greatly confused.

"You're just mad because we found a use for it." Akira said with a smirk.

"Besides, we may not need to breathe here, but if you don't..after a while you start to get woozy, and you'll get a Dizzy status. You'll also get fatigued faster." Aries said, Sasha tilted her head.

"How'd you figure that out?" she asked.

"When your alone in a cemetery training, you learn to hold your breath." she said simply.

"Yeah, only two of us have that skill though. So it'll be useless in the long run." Sasha added.

"It's better than nothing. we'll have to hold our breath until I make it into the labyrinth." Sapphira said, shrugging her shoulders.

"It'll be the same for us as well. It is the first time I hear of this...now I wish I would have leveled up my swimming skill." Morrison said dejectedly.

"Well, no time like the present. If this is the case, then we'll need to make a break for the labyrinth doors. Remember, this White Fang creature is still out there, if you feel like your about to die, don't hesitate to pull out. Trust me, I wouldn't blame you if you left." Akira said, walking over to the edge of the ship.

"What are ya doing lad?" Captain Morgan asked.

"I'm going overboard. We need to find the door to the labyrinth."

"Are ye looking for a death wish?" he asked.

"I'm pretty strong Captain. I'm not letting this White Fang get the best of me...thanks for the ride. If we do see White Fang, we'll slay it for ya." he said, hopping over the edge. He hit the water with an audible splash, and shivered a bit from the cold of the water. His team followed suit, the girls complained about the coldness of the water, while Nick and Morrison relished a bit, since it had been a bit hot.

"You're a brave lad Akira. I wish you the best, we'll keep sailing around this area, trying to find White Fang." Captain Morgan said, waving at them as they swam toward the base of the labyrinth.

"Man, this haze is annoying. I can't see crap." Sapphira said.

"Well, there's no crap to see. I mean, things here don't digest food, there for there is no crap. And even then, Fish poop dissolves in the water because of all the.."

"Nick, shut the fuck up." Akira called out, earning a giggle from Aries.

"Are...are you disrespecting my authority? Do you want to learn about the modern refrigerator?" he asked firmly.

"No, now shut it. If this White Fang were around, I wouldn't be able to hear it with your constant talking." he said firmly, swimming a bit faster. They got as close to the labyrinth as they possibly could, taking a bit of a breather.

"Alright, we should be right about the doors...however we also might have to fight something while we're down there, so be ready to fight." Akira said.

"I'll go first, seeing as I'm the only other person who leveled it up." Nick said, taking a deep breath. He dove below the waves, the glint of his armor sinking down into the depths.

"Um...I..don't know about this...I've never dived before." Aries said, clearly nervous. Sasha smiled, taking her hand.

"We'll go together...who knows? Maybe if we run out of air, we can give some to each other." she said with a wink. Aries eeped a bit before being ultimately pulled below the water. Morrison followed close behind, eyes rolling at the orange haired girl's antics. Sapphira took a deep breath, facing the labyrinth's Pillar.

"At least this isn't a Milestone Floor. I don't know what I'd do if it were." she said.

"I'll explain everything once we're inside. I was planning on setting a Corridor Crystal down there so we could just teleport in."

"Are you crazy? We only have the one...their impossible to find unless we get lucky. You know they can't be bought either." She snapped.

"Hey, it was by luck that Sasha found that one. Do you really want to swim back in there and through whatever lies in wait?" he asked firmly.

"Ugh...I hate it when your right." she said. He chuckled and got ready to dive down.

"Alright, lets hurry and make it to the doors."

"Hey wait...um...what was that thing you said back there on the ship, about the shiny object."

"What about it?" he asked, brows furrowed.

"Well...did you find out what it was?" she asked.

"Hmm...it was a key. Don't know what for, but it must be important, especially if it was a bright golden color. Now lets go...the others must be waiting." he said, diving below the water. Sapphira hummed to herself, already making theories about what the key could be used for.

Akira was amazed...the area below the waves was completely different. Several kinds of fish were swimming around without a care in the world. The area around the base of the pillar was a beautiful reef, with different colored plants growing out of the coral. Several shiny objects stuck out of the sand, as well as the splintered and mattered wood from the hulls of sunken ships.

A huge mast stuck out of the sea floor, along with the bow section of the ship it belonged too. The anchors lay on the sea floor, rusted beyond repair. Kelp was growing from the chain links, and a few fish were swimming around it, looking for food. He looked around, seeing his friends at the labyrinth doors. He dove deeper down, the bubble of air appeared around his head, and he started breathing normally. He found out, the water bubble actually helped to clear his vision underwater, which was a nice bonus.

"This is it right here. Once we open it, we might get sucked in, so I don't know how long it will be before we breathe again." Nick said, earning a nod from the rest of their teammates. Akira gave a nod to Nick, who pushed the doors open. However, instead of them opening, they slammed shut, causing a loud bang to reverberate around the area. Several bubbles rose to the surface.

"Well, that was a bust." Nick muttered, looking at Akira. The teen was stock still, eyes closed. The black armor clad teen adopted a curious look.

"Something wrong boss man?"

"I...hear it. Its coming straight for us, scatter." he shouted, grabbing Sapphira who was the closest by him. He pulled her away, just in time for a large shadow to zoom past. The others dodged it, letting it slam into the pillar. It sat stunned for a few seconds before facing them all.

It was a great white shark, but unlike normal sharks, this one was huge...it looked more like a Whale Shark than a Great White. Its underside was tinged black, and its teeth were bright white. There was a scar over its eye, and its tail had a few spikes coming out of it. Four HP bars appeared above its head, and its cursor turned a crimson red.

"White Fang. A mid level boss.." Akira muttered.

"Shit, we can't fight this thing." Sapphira cried out, even though she was trying to hold her breath.

"We're gonna have too. Morrison, Sasha take the forefront, keep its eyes on you, Nick, Aries you get its sides, Sapphira you and I will go for the gills, that's definitely one of its weak spots. Avoid its tail and teeth, and if your in the red, don't hesitate to teleport." he said, swimming as fast as he could.

Due to this Agility, he was actually a pretty fast swimmer. He unsheathed his sword, holding it in a diagonal slant. The blade glowed a bright gold, as the tendrils of energy split the water around it. With a fierce swing, he delivered the Slant, leaving a long pixelated gash across White Fang's gills. The creature thrashed a bit and suddenly spun around, slamming its tail into him and Sapphira, as well as making a current that scattered everyone. Akira clutched his shoulder, now sporting a decent cut on it.

"Damn, this is gonna be a hard fight. On solid ground, we'd have the advantage, but this is his playground...nothing I can do." he muttered. He watched as Aries and Nick alternated attacks, both finally settled on a joint sword skill, slamming their weapons into the sharks snout. This seemed to disorient it, as small golden stars started spinning around its head. His eyes widened.

"Of course...guys...use blunt attacks and hit it on the snout, it will keep him confused and he won't be able to attack." he called out, swimming as fast as he could toward the shark.

"We'll try, but we'll have to handle its tail." Sasha said.

"Don't worry about its tail, I got it." he said, swimming parallel to the shark's body, he stabbed his blade deep into its side, simultaneously using Horizontal Slash, with a battle cry, he pulled it out, leaving a blue trail of energy in his wake. He remained still for a few seconds, waiting until the post skill motion ended.

"Its gonna tail swipe again, everyone fall back." Nick cried out.

"Shit, I'm frozen...someone hold it off." Akira cried out.

"I got it." Sasha cried, swimming in front of him. She rose her shield in time to take the hit, but both were still knocked back into the pillar. Akira hissed a bit..his HP had dropped into the yellow.

"Damn it." he swore. He'd lost a hold of his sword and it had fallen down, embedding itself in between some rocks.

"Go, we'll keep it off you." Sasha said, swimming off.

Akira clicked his tongue and swam downward, kicking his legs as hard as he could. Reaching the sea bottom, he took a firm hold of his sword and started pulling on it, only to find that it was stuck. He cursed his luck. He looked up, focusing on White Fang's cursor. It had Three HP bars left, and a Poison status, no doubt from Nick who had found a rare orb that rose the likely hood of poison being active. White Fang batted its tail from side to side, moving straight into Aries who tried to block the hit with her mace. She let out a cry, several bubbles escaping her lips. Her HP dropped to the red.

"Fuck...of all the things. Guys, scatter...keep that bastard away from Aries until she's healed." he cried.

"We're fucking trying. It seems to favor her out of all of us." Nick replied, angling his blade to block another tackle. He was able to take the hit, but not without losing HP. Akira grit his teeth, looking back at his sword.

" _Fuck it, I can do without it."_ he said, swimming away from his weapon.

He quickly opened his menu, selecting his one of his other weapons, a Great Axe. He had gotten curious after he saw Agil level grinding, so he hunted one down and started mastering it. Its handle was a smooth black color, and was around five feet in length. The head of it was quite large, and was a dark blue color, with different designs on it. The blade was razor sharp, and was at a curved angle, making it easy to slice into various monsters. He pulled the axe above his head, the blade glowing a bright green.

"Grand Destruction." he shouted, bringing the axe down hard over the creature's tail.

It sliced cleanly through it, cutting it completely off. It floated downward for a few seconds before it burst into pixels, causing several air bubbles to raise up. Morrison, Sapphira, Aries and Sasha took their chance to breathe, sucking up the air into their lungs. White Fang struggled to move, the skill had been enough to fully take its second HP bar. It had also gained the Lost Limb icon above its HP bar, meaning it couldn't move for a few minutes.

"Now guys, this is our chance to attack it." he cried, swimming forward.

"Cyclone." Nick cried, his blade charged up, turning a bright orange color.

He spun 180 degrees, using the weight of the sword to do most of the damage, a circle of light remained around him after the skill ended, it sparked a bit, before finally disappearing. Aries swam forward, slamming her mace into White Fang's snout. After three consecutive blows, she delivered a strong kick before raising the mace over head.

"Brutal Strike."

She brought the mace down hard, leaving behind a trail of red energy that sparked wildly. White Fang slammed into the ocean bottom, kicking up the sand and scaring off the fish. Its Third HP bar disappeared, leaving it with its final one. Akira had to admire Aries, he strength was beyond anything he'd seen yet. She must have put every point into Strength just to get the best out of her weapon. Deciding not to let this chance go to waste, Akira swam down, holding his axe behind his body.

"Alright guys, while the bastard is stunned, we have to take it out, or else it'll regrow its tail. Move in." he said, axe glowing red. Nick struggled to move, especially with the weight of his armor and his sword, but he was doing his best to keep up with Akira. His sword glowed a bright green, and it sliced apart the water around him, filling his ears with a weird fizzing sound.

"I'll move in first. Over Radiation." Morrison cried, unleashing his fastest combo. He swung his sword so fast it that it seemed like blades of iridescent light were slicing into the shark. He spun around, delivering a final thrust and finishing his skill. Akira and Nick swam past him.

"Good Job Morrison. Alright, lets try this on for size. Whirlwind."

"Avalanche." Nick cried. Unleashing a battle cry, both teens swung their weapons hard, slicing straight through White Fang's body. Its HP dropped down, stopping just above zero. Their eyes widened when its tail grew back.

"Oh shit." Nick cried.

Akira tried moving, but the post skill motion was still active. The shark pulled its tail back, about to strike the two teens when it suddenly burst into pixels. The displacement of water ended up sending them to the ground, kicking up sand all around them. Akira groaned a bit, and closed his eyes to avoid the brown sand from entering his eyes. He brushed as much of it away before sitting up, coughing a bit. He was surprised his Underwater Breathing skill was still active.

"Akira, are you okay?" Sapphira asked, not caring about the loss of air. He nodded, looking at the green haired girl.

"Are you stopping yourself from breathing, or did you forget?" he asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Screw you, I thought you were gonna die, how do you expect me to breathe?" she cried.

"SAO logic at it's finest. Were you the one who took the final hit?" he asked.

"No, I didn't see who took it. Also, when did you get an axe?" she asked.

"A while back. I've been training with it in secret, and I gotta say, its a very underwhelming weapon. But all of its skills have Super Armor, so I don't complain."

"I saw you trying to pull your sword out of the stone. Why in the hell didn't you just unequip it and put it in your inventory?" she asked. His eyes widened a bit and he brought a finger to his chin.

"Hmm."

"You are so hopeless...heal." she cried, using a crystal on him. He chuckled and jumped up, floating slightly above the ground. He did as she suggested, unequipping his sword and reequipping it. He was happy to finally have it on his back once more.

"Man, that battle was hell..which one of you took the last hit?" He asked, as his friends all swam down to join them.

"It wasn't me, I was right next to you." Nick said.

"I was too far away." Morrison said.

"I was still a bit fatigued from the last skill I used, plus...I had to heal." Aries said, glancing at her HP bar nervously.

"It wasn't me..I can't use throwing skills underwater, they'll be slowed down." Sasha said.

"Well...it couldn't have just died because it felt like it...did it have any other status ailments?"

"None that I know of."

"What's it matter? White Fang is dead, lets move into the labyrinth, I'm sick of holding by breath." Sapphira said, dashing toward the doors.

Akira rolled his eyes and followed suit. Between the two of them, they were able to push them open. As soon as they did, they were sucked inside...they slammed into the stairwell, the room rapidly filling with water. They all shared a nod and swam to the doors, pushing them closed with all their might. When they did, the water started to drop a bit. They all swam up the stairwell, finally reaching the first floor of the labyrinth. They all started coughing, ridding themselves of the water in their lungs.

"Man...you guys...sure are lucky to have...that stupid skill." Sasha said between coughs.

"It isn't all sunshine and rainbows Sasha. I got an eyeful of Shark asshole." Nick cried, pulling his gauntlet slightly to let some water out. Akira stood up, shaking some water off his hood.

"Man...that was not what I was expecting. Goddamn shark." he muttered, walking deeper into the room. It was unmapped, meaning anything could pop out at you at any time. His searching skill was good, but it still lacked enough experience to locate enemies in unmapped areas.

The room was large, with three paths that split off from the main one. It was dark, and several pillars rose from the ground, holding the floor above it in place. Off to the side, he saw some Blue Crabs, as well as some Poisonous Sea Urchins, monsters he had fought at another dungeon on the 34th floor.

"Alright, we're the first ones here...how about we start clearing this place?" he asked.

"Dude, you want to start clearing this labyrinth after that battle?" Nick asked.

"Okay fine, you stay here and keep watch, all alone. We'll move on and come back for you when we find the boss room." Sapphira said, drawing her sword and walking off toward the nearby crabs.

"Um..well when you put it that way.."

"Thought so, Nick, you stick with Sapphira and take the left path, Sasha and Morrison take the right, Aries your with me in the center. If you run into dead ends, come back here. If one of you finds the exit to the next floor, message the others your coordinates."

"Agreed. Come on you...unless you really want to keep watch."

"No thanks Greenie, I think I'll take point this time around." he said, leading her toward the left path, Morrison and Sasha had already gone down their assigned path, leaving him and Aries to move down the center path.

For the two players, this floor seemed easy. The enemies went down with no trouble, basically after one or two sword skills. Their extremely high level might have also been a major factor of that. They reached a smaller branching room and walked in, heading toward the red treasure chest that lay in wait.

"Man, this is too boring. I was expecting a bit of a challenge." Akira said, kneeling before the chest.

"We are a bit over leveled for this area. I can't remember how many of those damn flowers I got from that side quest." she said, leaning back against the wall. Akira struggled to open the chest. He tapped the lock and the lock picking menu opened up. He hit Open chest, and the process started, making him a bit disgruntled.

"I wish they had you actually pick locks for these chests. Why bother allowing us to pick other locks when we can't even freely open a stupid chest." he said.

"Add that to the list of questions to ask Kayaba when we get out of here. I have a bone to pick with him about the Cooking Skill." she said, crossing her arms.

The chest finally opened, the the menu opened in front of him, making him go wide eyed.

"Damn, we got a new sword. It might even be better than the one I have now." he said, tapping the sword. He was glad Agil convinced him to raise his appraisal skill. The loading circle appeared, spinning for a few seconds before the menu opened.

"Hmm, its name is Mysterious Abyss. It has 20% chance of Poisoning, its DPS is 109 the Damage total is 129 and its attack speed is 60. If I do equip it, it will raise my attack, defense, vitality, agility, dexterity and hit by eight points each." he said.

"Not bad stats. What are you current sword parameters?" she asked.

"Slightly better...my Azure Blade is at +6 right now. I'm sure I can raise its stats way more, but for now I won't equip it. It's still a good sword though." he said, adding it to his inventory. He stood up, walking out of the room. He checked his map, seeing that there was one more room to check, and hopefully it had the doorway.

"Lets move on shall we?" She asked. He nodded, taking the vanguard for the moment. They entered the last room, seeing the large doorway that lead to the next floor. The room was luckily empty, so they didn't have to worry about running into anything. Akira nodded, pulling his message menu up.

"I'll tell the guys that we found the door." he muttered, quickly typing the message. He hit sent, and the menu automatically closed.

"What do you think the Boss Monster for this area will be?" Aries asked, glancing around the room curiously.

"I don't know...if the Mid Level boss was a giant shark, I'm willing to bet its another type of sea monster. Hell, I'm willing to bet its a Kraken." he said.

"How so?" she asked, glancing at him. He shrugged.

"It's just a feeling I have. If there's a Pirate named Captain Morgan riding a knock off Black Pearl with mentions of Davy Jones..there's bound to be a Kraken up there." he said.

"You make it seem like Kayaba is too damn predictable."

"He sort of.." he paused mid sentence, drawing his sword and getting into a stance. He glanced around the room, still finding it empty, though beyond the thresh hold, he knew someone was there.

"Che cosa?" she asked.

"Get behind me, and ready your weapon. You there, come out before I attack. If your an orange player, you better say your prayers." he said firmly.

The sound of footsteps filled the room, along with the sound of a shattering crystal. He sighed, placing the sword back in its sheathe. He approached the doorway and looked around, but found that it was empty.

"Something wrong Akira?" Aries asked curiously.

"I heard someone else. But it looks like they teleported before I was able to do anything. I didn't think we were followed." he said.

"I don't think it's even possible to be followed. We would have noticed them on the ship no?" she asked.

"Not unless they maxed out their hiding skill. Techniques like that are the most dangerous, especially for low leveled players." he said.

"Yes but...I don't think they would have come here just to kill us. I'm willing to bet their the ones who kill the shark."

"Hmm...you may be right about that." he said.

"Hey, you guys seriously find the boss room?" Sapphira asked, startling the two.

"Oh hey, we found the way up. I'm not sure if it'll take us to the boss room, but be ready for anything." he said firmly.

"I was able to find some new armor pieces, but they don't look any better than what I got, so I'm gonna sell it when we get to town." Nick added.

"I found some extra crystals and potions. I already sent them to Sapphira so she could distribute them evenly." Sasha added.

"Good, let's go up." Akira said, a curious look on his face. He was looking forward to seeing what the boss was going to be.

Xxx

"Seriously, you're gonna cut the story off when it gets to the good part?" Alicia moaned, glaring at Akira.

"I'm sorry, but we're about to enter the dungeon. Sadly my story has to wait." he replied, pulling his hands out of his pockets.

"You know, I still don't know why you say you heard someone in that dungeon. We were all alone there and I certainly would have heard the sound of teleporting." Sapphira said.

"I'm telling you Sapphira, we were being followed. It wasn't the first time it happened either. When we were on the 42nd floor I had the same feeling, then again when I was exploring the Forest of Wondering, the Hill of Memories and even that mountain range near Grandzam. I always got close to catching who it was, but I never got them." he said.

"Hehe, I wonder who that could have been?" Rain said absentmindedly, earning an annoyed look from Sapphira.

"I doubt they wanted to hurt me. After all I was pretty strong, so if they really wanted to attempt it, they could have." he replied.

"Alright, time to put a damper on story time. The village is just up ahead, from here on out it's a no Fly Zone, so get ready for a long walk." Sakuya said.

"Boo, I hate walking!" Alicia cried, a frown on her face.

"You don't hate walking when they give free food samples in Ueno." the woman said, a smirk on her face.

"It's free food, I'm a girl...do the math." she exclaimed, earning a cute little roar from Alduin.

"You know, I would find this weird if I wasn't used to being surrounded by girls...heh, if my old friends saw me now. Boy would they be jealous." Akira admitted.

"Why would that be?" Rain asked.

"Face it, any guy surrounded by so much poon-tang would make any other guy jealous. Akira can score with anyone of us at any time, that's grounds for murder if you ask me." Sapphira said.

"What the fuck are you talking about? You're my friends, why would I think of scoring with you? Besides I'm seventeen, I'm sure one of us is way older than us here." Akira snapped, earning a giggle from Sakuya.

"You act like it's a bad thing and yet, I caught you staring at my ass earlier. You know I don't mind spending time with you, this is a game after all and it has no impact on the real world."

"Alright that's enough of you. Let's just focus on the goddamn mission!" Sapphira cried, earning a groan from Akira.

"This better be worth it. Hayato is going to pay for what he's doing." he said angrily.

"You still didn't explain who he was exactly." Rain said, giving Akira a curious look.

"Well we didn't meet until a week after Mishe was unlocked. Oh right, Mishe is the capital of the 35th Floor. It's also the only floor that's constantly night time. Due to the city being in the middle of the Forest of Wondering, the trees block out all natural sunlight. There are some dungeons on the far edge that get sunlight though, so it isn't all dark."

"It's also very beautiful during the holidays. There was this huge Christmas tree in the center of it. It was also the location for a Holiday Event, Nicholas the Renegade, sadly we didn't hear about it until after someone had soloed the whole thing." Sapphira said.

"Okay, here we are. You all ready?" Sakuya asked, earning nods from everyone else. Akira smiled a bit. It had been awhile since he had taken a Quest with friends. Maybe this would ease his mind a bit.


	12. Aincrad Arc: Home Sweet Home

**A/N: Here's Chapter 12, as promised. As said in Chapter 11, depending on how I'm feeling tomorrow, I might post another chapter. I'm actually writing these out pretty quickly so I got enough to post and keep my writing schedule, though I might be taking a break for a bit to work on some other stuff. Anyways, tell me what you think of this chapter and the boss fight overall.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 12

Home Sweet Home

Having arrived at Jotunheimer, Akira and his friends immediately walked into the small village. Everywhere he looked, large chunks of ice stuck out of the ground. It was extremely cold, forcing him to equip another layer of clothing on. Sakuya seemed to be fine for the most part, but Rain, Alicia and Sapphira were forced to follow in his footsteps. Almost no one wanted to brave the storm, be they NPCs or players. Loud roars could be heard in the distance, making them wonder just what was wondering around.

"It should be around here. Keep your eyes peeled for an exclamation mark." Sakuya said, using one of her kimono sleeves to block the wind. Akira slipped, almost falling back into a snow bank. He muttered a few swears, but kept on walking.

"Why is this place covered in snow? Wasn't Jotunheimer a beautiful place in the past?" He asked.

"In Norse Mythology it was. It's supposedly known as the land of the giants. There's a large river that separates Jotunheimer from Asgard, the land of the Gods. Apparently the giants here cause a lot of trouble for Midgard, the land of humans." Akira said.

"Well, aren't you well versed in this?" Sapphira asked.

"Well, I did a little research on the stuff. When I found out ALO was centered around Norse mythology, I just had to learn more. If I'm right about this, then Jotunheimer is also the place where the Holy Sword Excalibur is kept. It makes sense that this place leads to Valhalla." he said.

"Oh, does it? I thought Cardinal was just making things up." Sakuya said, an amused smirk on her face.

"Wait a minute...Valhalla can't be down here. I know this game is loosely based on Norse Mythology, but I read that Valhalla is actually in Asgard, why would it be down here?" Rain asked.

"Um...that's a very good question." Alicia added, hugging her dragon closer to her body for warmth.

"Well, I do know that King Thrym, the ruler of the giants wants to reach Asgard to fight with Odin. This would be the cause of the event known as Ragnarok. However, I think I recall a hero slaying the Giant King and using the roots belonging to Yggdrasil to bring life to this place, thawing out the ice." Akira said.

"You are too well read on this. What do you do on your free time?" Sapphira asked.

"Watch Titanic documentaries." he said with a shrug. All of the girls shared a look, while Sakuya bit back a laugh.

"Somehow I am not surprised." she replied.

"Look, there's the quest NPC." Rain said, cutting their conversation off.

Just as she said, there was a man standing next to a rickety shack. He was holding a shovel in his hands, the glowing exclamation mark over his head. He was so bundled up his face wasn't even visible. As far as they knew, the man was a human. Obviously he wasn't a Fairy nor a Giant. Akira shrugged and made his way over to him, tapping his shoulder. A window opened up.

"Start Quest:To Defeat a Champion? You guys ready?" he asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be. Come on my ass is freezing!" Sapphira exclaimed. He pressed the Yes icon, causing the man to turn around.

"Ah, look at this...I haven't seen Fairies in such a long time...what are you doing down here?" the man asked, wearing a worn expression on his face.

"Well we were wondering around a bit lost and saw you out here. Do you need any help?" Akira asked.

"No no, I've been shoveling snow since I was a wee lad. But...I do have something to share with you. You see...my son left home several years ago, but he hasn't returned. He heard stories of a place where he could win riches by defeating champions within a coliseum. But he just didn't return. I can't get back up to Alne because of my poor health...do you think you could go find him for me?" he asked.

"We would be honored too. What's your son's name? Maybe he went to Alne for supplies." Sakuya asked.

"Ah yes, his name is Udyr. He said he was going to handle some business before heading to that coliseum. Sorry to trouble you with this."

"It's not an issue. We would be honored to do it!" Alicia cried out, causing the man to smile.

"If you can bring him back home, I will compensate you for your trouble. You should get back to the overworld before the snow gets deeper."

"We'll do that, thanks!" Akira said, turning around. Everyone started walking back the way they came.

"I thought the way to Valhalla was through here?" Alicia said, crossing her arms in disdain.

"See, now the information I have is credible. If we return to Alne and ask around for Udyr, we might get some information. We'll most likely have to beat the Champion to get access to Asgard where the sword is kept." Akira said.

"That's a pretty big assumption." Sapphira said.

"Oh come on, you have to make big assumptions, especially when it comes to quests of this magnitude. You of all people should know that." He said, brushing her off.

"Since we won't be fighting anything, do you think you can continue your story? Please?" Rain asked, clasping her hands together. Sapphira groaned, mist coming from her mouth.

"I suppose so. Where did I leave off? Ah yes, I left off at the part where Sapphira handed me one million col."

"No you didn't asshole, you left off in the dungeon on the floor below the boss room!" Sapphira snapped angrily.

"Really Sapph, from my perspective, I think I left off during that part."

"Do you want me to tell the story? Because I'll tell it right!"

"Bullshit, you'll make yourself look like the hero. You just don't want to admit that I was right about the Kraken!"

"Ugh...just tell it right!"

"Fine fine, all joking aside...our guild not only discovered the boss room but we did something incredibly stupid. At least we got some Free Real Estate." he said.

xxx

 _(August 1_ _st_ _2023 6:34 PM Location 34_ _th_ _Floor Labyrinth.)_

It didn't take long for Rising Phoenix to reach the Safe Zone. It had taken them some time and various minutes of fighting the nearby monsters, but they, with the exception of Akira, had gained three levels, all of them reaching level 50. Akira figured if they were going to be a clearing guild, they had to be at least ten levels above the current Boss levels. Of course with the intricacies of the Cardinal System, they knew that the bosses might grow in levels if there was a surge of over powered players. That was one of the reasons Akira didn't go after Super Bosses anymore.

So after some deliberation, all of them had unanimously decided to induct her into the guild. Now with six members strong, they had taken the task of clearing out the entire labyrinth. It seemed as if there had been a safe area set up there, so it was the perfect time to take a break and reorganize their inventories. Akira smiled and looked back toward the next floors stairwell...he didn't like to admit it, but he felt an ominous aura from them. He sighed and opened his menu, checking the drops he had gotten.

"Man, taking on this place was a sweet idea, I have so many good ores, I might just be able to upgrade my Great Sword a bit further." Nick said with a goofy grin.

"I got a new mace as well, but it needs to be brought up in rank for it to be useful." Aries replied.

"Monsieur Akira, is something the matter? You seem very quiet." Morrison suddenly said, making everyone look at their leader. He looked away from his menu, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm fine. It's just...I can feel a weird aura coming from the next floor. I'm willing to be the boss room is up there." He said firmly.

"I can sense it too...it's not exactly a skill, more of a premonition." Sasha said, leaning back against the brick wall behind her. She ran her hand across her Javelin's broad head, as she always did to keep herself calm.

"We're not going to do anything stupid are we?" Aries asked firmly looking at Akira, who shook his head.

"We're setting up a corridor crystal and teleporting back to Honolucia. We're not going in to be heroes." he said firmly.

"Shouldn't we scout the boss? I mean, wouldn't it be better if we knew its parameters ahead of time?" Sapphira suggested.

"It would, but in this instance, we don't have the right amount of people in the party. Usually, three parties of eight would be sent in with the right equipment to gather the necessary information. It's just six of us, not even a full sized party." he said.

"I dunno, I sort of agree with Sapphira. It would be best if we just scouted it for a bit. After all we have our crystals, so we can definitely get out of there if need be." Nick said, backing his vice commander up.

"Hmm...I guess it would be alright, but only for Five minutes, after that, we're dipping out and setting the crystal." he said.

They all nodded and started setting up their pallets. Akira meanwhile kept rearranging his inventory. He tossed the things that would be completely useless and transferred all of the stuff that was of some use to his storage. He sifted through his weapons, trying to see which one had better stats, he wasn't going to be using his Great Axe again for a while, as it had been a bit of a hassle to level up. He looked at his Nightfall blade, it had been a good companion on the Teens and early Twenties, until he found his Azure Blade on the 28th Floor. He set that on another window to sell later, he was sure someone on the lower floors would find some use for it.

The Azure blade was supposedly made from pure crystal ingot, though he didn't know exactly what kind. It was around 45 inches long, with 38 inches of that being the blade itself. The hilt was full tang, and was wrapped in a black leather to keep it from slipping out of his hand. The cross guard was angled upward, almost like a Claymore's guard, only it was flat and had a few gems on it. The blade itself was a nice azure color, and the tip of the blade was shaped almost like a Kunai knife. He had been able to upgrade it to +6 with a few spare ores he had laying around. It's accuracy and dodge boost had helped him out quite a lot, and along with the greaves he had on, it added to his overall evasiveness. He was only hit three times in the course of one fight, but just because he could evade major hits didn't mean he was invincible.

His Dagger, the Sword Breaker had been upgraded to +4 and was his strongest Dagger at the moment. Though he wanted to use it and master it a bit more, he'd be risking it a little bit, especially if they were going to scout the boss. He flicked into another menu, eyes resting on a few weapons he was going to sell later on, he highlighted a few of them, transferring them to his storage. His eyes fell on one that he had been saving for a while. It was a Katana, named Murasame. It had a red hilt, with a square shaped tsuba. It had a black blade, with a slight purple tint to it. He hadn't upgraded it or anything, but when he had gotten it, it had already been at +1, and it had a +5 to Poison. He hadn't leveled up Scimitars at all, so he had no access to Katana skills. Sadly, he wasn't going to be using it, he just had it because it looked cool.

"What's up, you've been rather silent." Sasha asked, leaning next to Akira, who had a pensive look on his face.

"I have this Katana here that I'm not using. I was thinking of selling it, but it's a good sword...even though it would make me a lot of money, I want it to go to a good person." he replied.

"That's rather noble of you." she said.

"One thing you should know about the leader, it's that he'll be putty in a girl's hands. So long as you have a nice rack, he'll follow you to the ends of Aincrad itself." Nick said with a laugh, earning a slap from Sapphira. Sasha blushed a bit, a smile on her face.

"I think it's time to go. We've spent enough time wondering around this labyrinth." Akira said, closing his menu. He earned a nod from everyone else, all of them gearing up to go.

Akira and Sapphira decided to take the lead, with the rest of their team covering the back. The next floor was a plain hallway, leading all the way to a set of double doors. They all knew exactly what it was. After ten minutes of walking, the stopped before the doors. They were made of sandstone and some type of blue material, that gave it a bit of a sea themed look. A few fish skulls were etched into the doors as well as that looked like two tridents, crossed over the doors.

"Well, this is it. Everyone ready?" he asked, looking back at his team.

"Remember, we're just here to scout it, deflect all of its blows, and memorize its parameters as best as you can. Once we have enough data, we'll leave the boss room and set the crystal. No need to be a hero and no need to die tonight. Ready your crystals." Sapphira said. She turned to Akira who nodded and pushed the doors open. Everyone remained silent as both doors slammed into the back wall, a loud echo resounding through the labyrinth.

The boss room was unlike any other they had seen before, for one, it looked as if it was the sea bottom, instead of the usual stone floors, it was all sand. Large pools of salt water lapped at it from the sides, and rock formations were protruding from the sides. The stairwell to the next floor was made of a beautiful red coral, leading in a spiral to the next set of double doors. A huge hole in the side of the wall let the dying light of day into the room, giving it a bit of an orange look. Akira lead his team near the center and held his hand out, stopping them from moving.

His hand was on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it if need be. The room started to rattle, and the pools of water begun bubbling up, they looked around, eyes trained on every single area of the floor. Large tentacles, gray in color, started coming out one of the pools, the suction cups were large enough to suck a mans face clean off. The creature pulled itself out of the water, its many tentacles wriggling about. Its cursor appeared above its head, along with its name.

"The Kraken. Goddamn it Akira, you just had to say Kraken!" Aries shouted, glaring at her friend as she drew her mace.

"Yes, One Million Col is all fucking mine!" he screamed joyously, drawing his sword. Its Four HP bars appeared next to it, and it let out an ear piercing screech, that made everyone a bit unbalanced. The doors suddenly slammed closed, locking them in the room.

"Uh...boss man, this isn't good." Nick said, face paling a bit at the sight of the closing doors.

"Fuck it, use your crystals, we can't risk this." he said, reaching behind his back. He pulled out the glowing blue crystal, about to activate it.

"Akira, watch out." Sapphira cried out, Akira jumped back, dodging the large tentacle a fraction of a second before it actually hit. He landed in a low crouch, dashing backward to avoid the tentacles.

"Its not letting us use crystals. Guys, we'll have to stun it long enough to use them." he said.

"Nick and Aries, its all you." Sapphira replied. The black armored teen smirked, drawing his Great Sword.

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna get me some Calamari." he said with a huge grin, licking his lips.

"Wrong animal you artard." Sasha called back, using her shield to block a hit from one of the Kraken's many tentacles.

Akira threw a few slashes at the biggest tentacles he could, avoiding them when he could, and blocking when he wasn't fast enough. He used Vertical, leaving a nice gash on its tentacle. The creature let out a loud screech, and sent him flying back into the rocks. His HP dropped a bit, and he was a bit loopy from the unexpected hit.

"Akira, are you alright?" Morrison asked.

"I'm fine, focus on its main body if you can. I'll handle the tentacles." he said, dashing forward as fast as he could.

"Take this!" he shouted, slicing one of the tentacles clean off. The Kraken howled in pain as the limb fell to the ground, bursting into polygons. Its eyes glowed crimson, turning to face Akira.

"Now, use your sword skills!" Akira cried out, raising his sword to block a hit. He let out a shout as he was sent flying back into a stone pillar.

"Akira! Take this you bastard, Sagittarius Explosion!" Sasha cried, her Javelin glowed a brilliant green a she threw the weapon forward. It pierced the Kraken's skin, the unreleased energy then exploded outward, causing massive damage to the creature. Sasha slid across the ground, catching her Javelin in time to drive it into one of the tentacles, holding the creature in place.

"Now's our chance." Sapphira cried. Her sword glowed crimson as she activated Star Quint Prominence. Nick let out a shout, striking the main body with Avalanche.

"Over Radiation!" Morrison howled, his rapier became a blur as he rapidly struck the creature.

"Good work guys, we took it down to it's third bar." Akira said.

"We might actually pull this off." Aries added.

"Oh shit!" Sasha cried. The Kraken finally pulled its tentacle free, sending the orange haired girl's Javelin flying back. Her eyes widened when the large tentacle came for her. She rose her shield, planting her feet firmly on the ground taking the brunt of the impact. Her health dropped into the yellow.

"Nick, double attack!" Akira cried out, racing toward the tentacle, sword glowing.

"You got it boss! Here comes a special skill just for you!" Nick howled, raising his sword above his head. It glowed a brilliant blue as he dropped it right onto the tentacle.

"Guillotine Slicer!" he shouted. The Kraken roared in pain as another of its tentacles was cut clean off. Akira took his chance, striking the creature with a Horizontal Square. He remained frozen as the glowing tendrils faded from existence.

"Aries go in before he gets hit!" Sapphira cried out, parrying another blow aimed at her. Aries nodded and ran forward, using her own shield to bash away one of the tentacles. She gripped her mace tightly in her hand, the head glowing a bright green.

"Trinity Arts!" she shouted, bringing the mace down as hard as she could. She spun on her heel, driving her mace into the Kraken's body. Spinning the mace over her head, she slammed it back down on the creatures beak, successfully stunning it.

"Holy shit, you holding out on us Aries?" Nick cried out, smiling at the pinkette who just gave him a smirk. Morrison pulled her out of the way, allowing Sasha to throw her Javelin at the stunned creature.

"Alright, we're down to its last bar. Back up and heal while me and Sapphira deal some more damage!" Akira cried out, running forward, his sword glowing red. Thankfully he had used a healing crystal to bring his HP back up to a good level. Sapphira ran at his side, using the same skill as him.

"When did you reach level 5 mastery?" she asked curiously.

"Not that long ago, I've been dying to try this skill out."

"Me too, together then." she said.

"Savage Fulcrum!" the two of them cried, bringing their swords up on the creatures body. It howled in pain as the blades tore its skin. Akira brought his sword back down, spinning on his heel as he drove the sword deep into its body. Sapphira did the same, stabbing her sword straight into the ground, pinning down one of the bigger tentacles. The two froze in place as the Post Skill Motion kicked in.

"My turn, forgive me if I get the last hit. Delta Attack!" Morrison cried, unleashing his own powerful skill. In the flash of an eye, the boy slashed a deep triangle into the Kraken's body with his rapier, causing even more damage to it. It's HP bar stopped shy of Zero, making the creature roar loudly. It rose one of its large tentacles, sending them all flying back.

"Guys, its becoming more aggressive!" Sasha cried, gripping her Javelin tightly in her hands. Akira groaned, downing a potion.

"We can't let it attack. It'll most likely try to go into the pools, cut it off while I finish this off." he said, forcing himself to his feet.

"As if, your HP is still recovering, it's suicide. Just let Aries do it!" Nick said.

"Si si, I can do it!" Aries said. Akira nodded and tossed her one of his Speed Crystals.

"I trust you, go!" he shouted.

She nodded, running forward with all her might. She cracked the crystal above her head, her body glowing blue as she gained a speed advantage. She slammed her shield into the tentacles trying to grab her, striking each one with her mace. She kicked off the ground, defying the laws of physics. She towered above the creature, holding her mace high above her head.

"Mjolnir Hammer!" she exclaimed as her mace burst with yellow crackling light.

With a shout, she drove the mace right into the creatures head. The Kraken roared in pain as the shock wave raced through his entire body. The last of it's HP bar faded away, and the creature burst into polygons. Aries landed on her feet, slipping on the rocks and falling onto her back. She panted for breath, staring at the Congratulations Banner above her.

"Porca Puttana, that bastardo was tough!" she said.

"You said it! Hey, you got the Last Attack Bonus, so what is it?" Sapphira asked. The girl sat up, opening her menu. Her eyes widened in shock.

"You won't believe this but...it's a hat...it's a goddamn hat!" she said.

"Are you fucking serious?" Nick cried out.

"If it's a hat, I'm so going to find Kayaba and tear him a new one." Akira added. The girl burst into laughter, clutching her sides.

"Your expressions...they were priceless...the drop for this floor was a food item. Kraken Tentacles, it's an A-class Meat." she said.

"A-class meat, you need like a Cooking Skill of 700 to cook that up." Nick said.

"Great, we get food that we can't even fucking eat...looks like we'll have to sell it for money." Sasha said, a frown on her face.

"What are you talking about? I may be in a game, but that doesn't mean I cannot cook food. I got my cooking skill to 750 just last week." she said.

"Really? Aries you're awesome you know that?" Sapphira said, already imagining the meal the younger girl was about to make.

"How about we save that meat for later? Let's find ourselves a nice building on the 35th Floor and make our guild official. Aries can make that for our inauguration party." Akira said.

"Good idea, we all need some rest after all." Morrison said. Their leader smirked, glancing over at Sapphira, who was intently watching her HP bar. She glanced up at him, brows furrowed.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Loser!" he cried, pointing his finger at her.

"Huh?"

"Back on the Sixth Floor, we made a bet on whether or not we would find a Kraken in this game. The bet was one million col and I won, so fork over the cash." he said.

"That's not fair...I don't even have one million col to spare! If I give you the money now, I'll only have 100,000 Col left!" she cried.

"Well you can pay in monthly installments. Either that or you give me that armor your wearing." he said, smirking a bit.

"As if, this armor was tailored specifically for girls. You wouldn't wear it even if you tried."

"I know...how about this...we use that one million col, along with the other money we got to buy our guild house." he said.

"I think that's a much better way to spend that money. So, let's go ahead and head upstairs. The 35th Floor is our oyster after all."

"Ugh, after this I think I'm done with sea themed floors." Nick said, earning a laugh from the rest of his friends.

The party of six made it out of the labyrinth, expecting the bright shining sun to blind them. But instead they saw nothing but forestry. The entire area was nothing more than thick trees spanning several miles in height. The canopy was so thick that it blocked out the light. All around them were large egg shaped lamps that had a bright golden glow, giving the entire area a mystic feel. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Oh my, this floor is just breath taking." Aries said, her eyes shining like stars.

"Seems a bit underwhelming in my opinion. It's just forest." Nick said.

"Yeah, and these egg things really put me off." Sasha said, poking one of the lights with her Javelin. One of them hissed loudly, expelling some foul smelling gas. She started coughing, brushing the cloud away.

"Aw come on, we haven't even reached the main settlement yet. Be careful, we don't know what could lie in wait." he said.

"We're level fifty though, so we should be fine." Morrison added.

"Right, but the monsters in the labyrinth's were around levels 45-47, meaning the monsters on this floor well exceed our levels. That means I'll have to go level grinding again." he admitted.

"Speaking of which, how the hell do you level up so quick? You're like level 60 now aren't you?"

"I'm not telling...and if you want to know, if you level up your Dagger skills, you can unlock something called EXP Gain. It increases your Experience so you can get more from boss monsters and mid level monsters. Sadly I didn't have time to use it during that last fight so I didn't even level up." he admitted.

"Jeez, you get all of these cool skills but it's such a pain in the ass to unlock the mall. Bomb Crafting, EXP Gain, what else are you hiding?" Nick asked.

"That's a secret, but for the low low price of one million col, I'll be willing to share." he said.

"Pfft, in your dreams."

"Hey look, it's the settlement." Sasha said, pointing ahead of them.

Unknowingly, they had climbed up a small hill that overlooked the main settlement on the 35th Floor. It was a rather large city, looking very urban while keeping it's medieval look. The streets were paved with smooth looking cobblestone. The buildings were tall and made from stone, with thatched roofs. Long cords of glowing lights connected the buildings, keeping the entire city lit, along with all of the oil lamps. Akira smiled, nodding to himself.

"Oh yeah, this is the place. Let's go explore, you can all split up and look on your own. Sapphira and I will go activate the Teleporter and send a message to the clearing party downstairs." Akira said.

"Understood, come on Morrison, let's go hit on some NPCs." Nick said, pulling his best friend with him.

"Monsieur Nicholas, we can't just do that to those poor girls. They'll never forgive us!" he cried.

"Wanna go look for a sweet shop or something? I'm sort of hungry." Sasha said, glancing at Aries.

"Sure thing, we need to become better amicas!" the pinkette said, earning a nod from the orange haired girl.

Once they made it to town, everyone split up. Sapphira and Akira walked toward the Teleport gate which was located smack in the center of town. The two of them were watching all of the NPCs walking around, mild interest on their faces. They saw a few with exclamation marks above their heads, marking them as quest NPCs. Sapphira smirked, pulling Akira's arm.

"Hey, wanna nab all of these quests while we're here? Imagine all of the EXP we can make, not to mention the money?" she asked.

"That's dishonest Sapphira. Everyone should have a fair chance to get these quests. It would be unfair of us to get them all while everyone else is most likely still searching for the labyrinth. We claimed all of the items in there and all of the drops, that'll be enough for now." he said, continuing his walk to the Gate.

"Boo...I hate it when you do that."

"See, it's shit like this that makes you look like a Beater. Come on, no one sees you like that anymore. Don't give them a reason for them to start again." he said. She sighed, giving him a nod.

Reaching the teleporter, they saw the plate fixed onto the stone device. The name Mishe was written on it, so he guessed that was the name of the settlement. He pressed the side of the stone, making it come to life. The two of them stepped onto it.

"Teleport: Honolucia!" they exclaimed. In the blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared, finding themselves back in the beach town. The two of them stepped off the teleporter, taking a look around.

"The sun is back, so the labyrinth's hidden. It was a good thing you caught it when you did." Sapphira said.

"Yeah, but we're still the bosses for kicking that things ass on our own." he said, fist bumping his partner.

"Hey you two, finally taking a day off?" the familiar voice of Asuna asked, catching their attention.

It was rare to see the Vice Commander of the KoB blending into the crowd. She was wearing a cute white two piece Bikini which hugged her curves nicely. She was with another girl, who had light pink hair and some freckles on her face. She was wearing a matching bikini, only it was a light pink in color with frills around the edges.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? I haven't seen you since Floor 29, well aside from Boss battles that is." Akira said.

"Yeah, I rarely get a day off. With all of the new members joining, I've gotten stuck on babysitting detail. We've gotten plenty of members from the lower floors though, so that's great for our numbers. Oh, where are my manners? This is my friend Lisbeth, she's a Blacksmith."

"Ahem, master black smith." the girl corrected.

"Not yet, remember you're skills still need refining!" the auburn haired girl said, making the pinkette grumble under her breath.

"Hehe, it's nice to meet you Lisbeth. My name is Akira, and this is my partner and friend Sapphira. We're the leaders of the Rising Phoenix guild." he said, holding his hand out.

"Nice to meet you Akira. Asuna never let's me talk to her friends." she said.

"That's not true, you've spoken to tons of friends."

"Yeah, all of them with work orders. I can't complain though, as I am leveling up my skills." she said.

"Speaking of that, I've been looking for my own personal Black Smith, I got plenty of stuff but the NPC shops fuck my stuff up. Not to mention that Yamada guy, ugh...first an information broker and then a Blacksmith, I'll be impressed if he can swing a sword right." he said.

"How the hell is that kid even alive still?" Sapphira asked, earning a shrug from her friend.

"Well, I'd be flattered to make you something. My skills are currently at 650, so I can make some pretty decent weapons, or if you don't want me to mess your stuff up, I can upgrade what you got." she said.

"Alright, how about I leave a sword with you?" he asked. He opened his trade menu and selected the sword he found inside the labyrinth. He hit send, causing the menu to appear before the girl. She didn't hesitate to materialize the sword. She let out a shocked groan as she grabbed a hold of it, the blade hitting the ground.

"Jeez, this thing is heavy...where did you find it?" she asked.

"The labyrinth." he said simply.

"Oh, Floor 33's labyrinth?"

"Floor 34, actually." he said.

"Huh...that's a funny joke Akira, we haven't found the 34th Floor labyrinth yet." Asuna said.

"Actually, about that...we came here to tell you something, so you can pass it on to the clearers. Floor 35 is available for clearing." Sapphira said.

"What...alright stop messing around. You know we haven't found anything in 3 weeks. You can't possibly tell me a party of six found the labyrinth, defeated the boss and opened up the next floor."

"But we did, we got a bit of map data for the Forest of Wondering." Akira said, sending the map data to the Rapier user. Her eyes widened in shock.

"No way...you guys are freaking idiots! You took on the boss on your own? Don't you know how stupid that was, you could have died!" She shouted.

"But we didn't...we weren't even going too. However Kayaba decided to program a goddamn Kraken on this floor. It wouldn't allow us to use any of our crystals." Akira said.

"We took precaution and directed our friends accordingly. Besides Akira is level 60 so it's alright."

"Sapphira, I am not level 60, stop stretching the truth!" Akira exclaimed.

"How in the hell did you get that strong?" Lisbeth asked curiously.

"Trade secret, I'll let you know if you upgrade that sword." he said, giving her a wink.

"Unbelievable...I'll let the Commander know as well as the DDA and the other clearing teams. But this is the last time, no Solo Boss Hunting, got it?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am!" Sapphira said, giving Asuna a salute. Akira just shrugged, spinning on his heel.

"Alright, time to go search for a guild house. Feel free to keep that sword as long as you need to Lisbeth, and if you break it it's totally fine. I got more swords in my inventory." he said, giving her a wave. The two teens stepped back onto the teleporter, flashing out of existence.

"They have to be the two stupidest people I have ever met. Seriously, taking on a boss on their own?" Asuna cried out.

"Oh come on, you and Kirito do stupid shit too...having a duel in the field surrounded by monsters? That ring a bell?"

"Shut up Liz."

xxx

 _(August 7_ _th_ _2023: Mishe 35_ _th_ _Floor: 3:24PM)_

"Are you sure this is the place Sapphira?" Akira asked, following his friend.

"Yes it is. I passed it earlier and got a good look at it. It'll be the perfect guild house, at least for now." the girl replied. Their friends were following close behind, looking around the city.

It had been a week since Mishe had been reached, and the clearing team had not only settled there, but had already found and defeated the boss. The Frontlines were currently on the 37th Floor, but had made Mishe their temporary base. Akira had decided to take some time away from the Frontlines so he could find a good home. On top of that, he had wanted to explore the Forest of Wondering, as it had been left mostly abandoned by the clearing parties. They said they would let the intermediate players clear it out so they could gain some experience. Akira was one of the people who was dying to explore it.

The team finally stopped as they arrived at the plaza in Mishe. All of the local inns had been rented recently, so they had been forced to the more secluded part of the city. The building they were looking at was facing the plaza and was five stories high, made entirely out of sandstone. Square windows dotted the building here and there, all of them glowing a light gold with candle light. It had a thatched roof which was angled, the shingles being red. A pair of double doors would lead players inside. There was a money sign on the door, meaning it could be bought.

"Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, ample living space and a large kitchen. The grand total, 4,000,000 Col. It's pretty expensive for a middle floor house, but it's pretty big." Sapphira said.

"Yo, what about your negotiation skills? Can't you lower that price a bit?" Nick asked.

"I did, originally it was six million. What do you say boss, should we buy it or should we keep looking?" Sapphira asked.

"Maybe we can find something cheaper in Nautilus...you know after the Frontlines reach the 38th Floor." Aries said.

"No, I want to make our guild here. Mishe means a lot to me, it was a city that we reached not only through hard work, but as a guild. I'm okay with buying it if you are."

"I'm alright with it too. It's time to settle down on one floor. I'm sick of wasting money at the inn." Sasha admitted.

"Me too...so if you want, we can transfer our share of the funds over." Morrison said.

"Yeah, I'll pay million of of it." Akira said.

"Same here, I'll put forth my million." Sapphira said.

"Then we'll put in the last two million." Nick said.

The process didn't take long actually. Once the funds had been pooled together, Akira purchased the house, the keys materializing in his hand. He unlocked the door and walked in.

The place was even nicer on the inside. The first part of the house was the spacious living room, with some modest furniture and even some house plants. There was a bookshelf filled to the brim with books. There was also a stairwell leading up to the next floor, which he assumed was the bedroom area. Aries made her way toward the kitchen, gasping a bit.

"Look at this kitchen, it's so big!" she said.

"Look at this bathroom, it has a useless toilet!" Nick said, waving from the hallway.

"Jeez, leave it to you to point that part out." Sasha said.

"Well, the rooms are upstairs, we'll let you all pick...I think I'm heading to the bakery for something. Aries why don't you get started on dinner?"

"Alright, you got it leader." she said, eagerly looking around the kitchen. Even though she system assisted her with cooking, it didn't deter her from looking around excitedly.

As Akira was leaving the house, he ended up bumping into someone. He looked up at them, seeing the green cursor above their head. He was a young man, not much older than he was. He had short black hair and light brown skin, his eyes being an onyx color. He was wearing a brown cloak, which hid most of his body. Akira gave him a sheepish grin, stepping from around him.

"Sorry man, didn't see you there."

"You the leader of Rising Phoenix?" he asked.

"I am...something wrong?" he asked.

"Nah, I didn't think the guy who cleared the 34th Floor labyrinth look like such a chump." he said.

"Well, aren't you lovely. If you just came here to insult me, then you can take your ass elsewhere. I got shit to do."

"Listen here murderer, I don't give a shit if you won the people over. What you pulled on the 25th Floor doesn't excuse anything. You still killed Ralph, and you still took a life. So don't act all hunky dory, because you have to pay for what you've done." he said.

"Alright, who the hell are you? Are you going to wait until I'm out of town and gank me? I'm not scared of you. Besides you don't even stand a ghost of a chance at beating me." Akira said, resting his hand on his upgraded Mysterious Abyss, which rested at his waist. The sword itself ended up being classified as a Claymore, a sub-weapon from the One Handed Sword class.

"Oh I know, I don't think I want to risk becoming an orange player for something so petty. I'm just here to let you know that you'll get yours soon." he said.

"Hayato, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice called out. Akira was surprised to see Sasha standing behind the two. The teen quickly stiffened.

"Oh, hey cousin...I didn't expect you to be here." he said.

"Really? You've been stalking us for the last week now. Is there something I can do to help?" she asked.

"Nothing at all...I'm just wondering if your okay...with Keisha being gone and all."

"Don't bring my little sister into this. I heard everything you said to Akira, so let's get one thing straight. If you hurt him or my guildmates in any way possible, I will end you myself. I've always hated you Hayato, so don't test me!" she said.

"Grr...fine, I hope you and Keisha rot in hell. Some family you are, you didn't even thank me for getting you the Nerve Gear in the first place."

"Well allow me. Thank you for the Nerve Gear, the Game and the ever lasting memories of watching my friends and my sister die in front of me. Now get out of here you low leveled waste of space." she said. The teenager glared at Akira before leaving, heading toward the Teleport Gate.

"What was that about?" Akira asked.

"That asshole is my real life cousin. He worked for Argus and managed to get me and Keisha our copies of SAO. He wanted us to play the game with him, but he actually wanted us to get strong so he could steal all of our good gear. When the game turned sour, he had to abandon his plans and play the game fairly." she said.

"What a douche bag." he said with a straight face.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway, I was going to get some groceries for the fridge but, I guess I'll go along with you. Wouldn't want Hayato to follow you or something." she said.

"He wouldn't do anything. The AREA system wouldn't let him hurt me...my Intimidation Skill is maxed out anyway." he admitted.

"Still, I would feel safer if I we're here." she admitted, a light blush on her cheeks.

"If you say so." he said.

The two of them walked off, heading toward the more populated area of Mishe, passing by several stores. Sasha smiled a bit, looking at a Wedding Dress that was on sale. She knew she wouldn't need it, but she wondered what kind of stats it would raise. Akira looked at it as well, seeing the tuxedo right next to it. She placed her hand on the glass, a frown on her face.

"My sister wanted me to get married one day, so that I could have kids. She wanted to be the best Auntie ever and treat them like her own children. When she was little, she ended up getting an ovarian cyst. It ended up causing some damage to her reproductive system. So at the age of eight, she had a hysterectomy." she said.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry to hear that." Akira exclaimed.

"Yeah, so am I. Keisha was...special. Even though she couldn't have kids, she knew she would be a mother. She started babysitting kids at the age of ten, even though she couldn't handle it. And a thirteen she started taking courses and helping young mothers in our neighborhoods. The day she died was her fourteenth birthday."

"Kayaba...that bastard needs to pay for this...people are dying left and right, and he's just sitting on his throne, hiding from us in the real world." he said, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Yeah...Kayaba will get his...Akira, I know this may be soon but...what you did for me in Honolucia...it struck home. You're the first person that showed emotion. When my friends and sister died, no one batted an eye. Six more for the wall, who cares, but you actually cared. You cried when I told you."

"Well of course, you're my friend. Why wouldn't I cry at hearing that?" he asked, an incredulous look on his face.

"That's the thing...you didn't have too. I heard the rumors, that you murdered someone in cold blood. Honestly I wanted to kill you myself, but then I heard what truly happened. That you tried to forfeit and were attacked instead. I wanted to meet you, and who would have thought, you actually asked me to join you for a boss raid. It was the first time in weeks that I had spoken to anyone. You brought my life back." she said.

"I...didn't do anything Sasha...I was just being me."

"And that's one of the reasons I fell in love with you...so, would you marry me?" she asked, holding a ring to him. His eyes widened in shock and he bumped into the glass, a small icon reading Immortal Object above him.

"Huh? You wanna what?" he asked.

"I want to be in a relationship with you. I could die at any given moment, and I've never even had a boyfriend. I know we could start slow, but fuck it. I wanna get married in my life, it was my promise to my sister. Please, just accept!" she said.

"I uh...well...okay." he said softly. She placed the ring on his finger, tears slipping from her eyes. She sent him the marriage proposal, which he instantly accepted.

"Thank you Akira, I truly do love you with all my heart." she said, hugging him tightly.

"I don't know how to feel about this but...I guess I could give love a shot. I don't want to get my ticket punched without having a girlfriend." he said, making her giggle. They looked into each others eyes, pulling each other into a passionate kiss, the first they had ever had in their lives.

Xxx

"So, you and Sasha got married?" Rain exclaimed, earning a nod from Akira.

"Yes, we did. Now you know how we met Hayato." Akira said, a frown on his face.

"Oh Sasha...I didn't know her sister was put through all of that. She never mentioned it." Sapphira said, a few tears brimming her eyes.

"Yeah, she didn't feel comfortable speaking about it. I promised myself I wouldn't say anything but...I want Sasha to remain alive, even if among all of us." he said.

"So wait...you mean to tell me...Sasha is?" Alicia paused, earning a nod from the two.

"I don't feel like talking about it right now...let's just focus on searching for Udyr." Akira said, finally reaching Alne. Everyone remained silent, not wanting to disturb the young swordsman.


	13. Aincrad Arc: The Night Before

**A/N: Well if you all liked the last chapter, you Fuck Nuggets are gonna love this.**

 **I am really liking how this story is turning out, but I am quickly exhausting my ideas for this fic, I'm almost through the Aincrad arc and I am adding as many original events as I can, even going as far as adding a Grand Quest to the story. I'm currently writing the events happening on the 64th Floor, which I have named Luana. If you've played Pokemon ORAS, then the town is based on Fortree City. It should be interesting when I eventually post stuff for that. But might take a break for now and finish posting what I got. I've been neglecting both of my Pokemon fics and I really need to get back on them. I might start working on Legends of Kalos again for a bit, fixing up the chapters, I might rewrite chapter one so if you've read that fic, I'll let you all know if I rewrote it or not.**

 **So, I hope you all like this chapter, It's gonna be a tear jerker, and a bit fanservicey...so do enjoy.**

 **Shoutout to that guy who does Ant Hill casting videos, those were really cool bro, props to you...**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 13

The Night Before

The group of five had been searching Alne for what seemed like an eternity, but they hadn't found a single hint on Udyr's location. Akira was becoming as bit irritated as he looked around, asking the NPCs if they had seen and or heard of a man wanting to challenge a champion. While most denied it, others just told him rumors about it. But without a way to confirm them, they were all just stuck in place. After awhile, they all stopped searching meeting up in the center of the neutral city, near the base of the world tree.

"So, what have you guys found?" Sapphira asked.

"Nothing much, other than faceless rumors. I can't really say if Udyr came here or not." Akira said.

"Yup yup, I found nothing but rumors too." Alicia added.

"I heard one that had him going up to Yggdrasil City. Supposedly he was going there for some high class armor. It makes sense if he's going to Valhalla to face a champion." Rain said.

"Hmm...I think we need to do more research on the matter. It's getting a bit late in the afternoon, how about we break for lunch and come back in an hour?" Sakuya suggested.

"I can agree to that. I've been diving since last night and I could use some real food." Akira said.

"Um Akira, maybe you shouldn't dive for so long. It'll affect your body you know?"

"Please, I spent how many years trapped in a game? It'll be alright Sapphira, hey, why don't you come over? We can party up from my house, plus my mom totally adores you." Akira said. Sapphira huffed but gave him a nod.

"Alright, I'm at my Grandparents place in Shibuya, so it'll take me like ten minutes to reach Ikebukuro." she replied.

"Oh, so now I know where my precious Akira lives, I'm gonna go stalk him." Sakuya said, earning a smirk from the boy.

"My dwelling isn't really a secret. You're free to come too, but then again I'm sure you want me to figure out who you are on my own." he said.

"Boo, come on Sakuya we can go to lunch at the cafe."

"Alright Rue, you lead the way. We'll meet in an hour."

With that, all of them logged out of the game, their bodies disappearing into blue mist.

Xxx

Akira groaned a bit as he opened his eyes. He reached around his head and pulled his headset off, placing it on the pillow next to him. He stretched his arms as he sat up, glancing around his room. His eyes fell on the girl sitting at his computer chair, and he let out a gasp.

" _Holy shit, that's what Rain looks like?"_ He cried out. He saw her move slightly, once again being fully conscious. She took off her headset, glancing at the boy who was staring at her intently. Her cheeks tinged red and she instantly covered herself with her arms.

"Don't just stare at me." she said.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting you to be so...beautiful in real life." he said.

"Are you saying you prefer my avatar instead? I'm appalled Akira." she cried.

"What no...you look amazing IRL too. I prefer your natural hair color to the crimson one you got in game." he said.

"You like this more?" she asked, grabbing a strand of her hair.

"Yeah I do. How about we get some food eh?" he asked.

"That sounds lovely. Do you need help?" she asked, quickly standing up.

"Nope, I got it." he said, hopping into his chair with practiced skill. The girl was rather amazed that he was able to get on it so quickly.

"Wow, that was cool."

"Thanks, one of the things I did at the hospital after SAO was get some more upper body strength. I used to practice parkour in my free time, so I could run pretty fast. Sadly I won't be able to run for a bit longer." he said.

"Don't worry, you'll walk again soon. I want to be there when you do, you're my friend after all." she said, blushing slightly. Akira smiled, pulling the brakes on his chair.

"Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!" he cried, shooting out of his room.

"Akira, jeez slow down!" the girl cried, racing after her friend.

In the dining room, Alisha was busy reading her AmuSphere manual, having already installed all of the things she needed onto her laptop. She was surprised she could run something so complex from a small computer. But the generation they were currently in boasted some very powerful technology. She hummed to herself, looking back at her computer screen.

"How the fuck do you make your avatar again?" she cried. Her mother rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"The AmuSphere is a FullDive device, meaning you'll have to calibrate it when you turn it on. That's how it gets your height, body shape, weight and every other little feature. For Alfheim online though, you get a random avatar. For a low fee you'll be able to customize it however you want." Alice replied, earning a nod from her daughter.

"Yes but...didn't Noah say his avatar looked like him in real life?" she asked curiously.

"That's because he transferred his information from SAO over. Don't you remember, when he funded Yvir they got all of the SAO server data, including the old avatars."

"Oh right, I remember that. Wait a minute, does that mean Noah is a Game Master? That's such a low blow." she said.

"No, he sold his rights to the current CEO of Yvir, so he lost all of his Admin privileges. He said it wouldn't be fun to be able to generate any weapon in the blink of an eye. He loves adventure after all." the woman said, placing a sandwich in front of her.

"Thanks Mommy!" she said, grabbing the food from the plate. At that same time, her little brother made his way into the dining room. He pulled into the table, expertly stopping before hitting the object before him. Nijika came in a second later, panting a bit.

"No fair Akira, you got a head start!" she cried.

"Sorry Rain, it isn't my fault you got slow reflexes." he replied.

"That's so not fair...how are you so fast?" she asked.

"Practice makes perfect." he said simply.

"Hey kids, you hungry?" Alice asked, earning nods from the two.

"So Nijika-chan, you were able to get him out of the game after all?" Alisha asked.

"Nijika, that's your name?" Akira asked, earning a nod from the girl.

"Yes, that's my name...b-but you c-can call me Rain, if you like." she said.

"Nah, I think Nijika is a cuter name. You can call me Noah if you want, though I prefer Akira. He's the more bad ass version of me." he said, taking the glass of water his mother handed him. Nijika took a hold of her own glass, giving the woman a quiet thank you.

"Noah sweetheart, you're sister is showing noob behavior with her AmuSphere, mind helping her out?" she asked.

"Mom, I am not a noob!" Alisha cried out.

"Yes you are sweetheart. Console gaming is nothing to VR, I'll make the two of you some food while you wait." she said.

"What seems to be the problem sis? Can't figure out how the calibration works?" Akira asked, a smirk on his face.

"No...yes." she said. Nijika giggled and stood next to the girl, taking a hold of her laptop.

"It's really easy. The AmuSphere works practically on its own...the only reason it needs to be plugged in, is so it can get a strong LAN connection. If you try playing an MMO on a wifi connection, you'll lag beyond belief." she said, typing a few things on to the prompt that had opened up. She hit run calibration and grabbed the headset, placing it on Alisha's head.

"I'll let you know, playing an MMO on wifi sucks, especially with all of the lagging. I guess games like Overwatch are fine, but that game is pretty ancient if you ask me."

"Ancient for a ten year old game, I'm surprised there are servers running for it." the girl said. Nijika helped her up to her feet, the screen on the device lighting up.

"Okay, now it'll just take a scan of all of your senses. After that just follow the instructions and it'll be done. Calibration was the most annoying thing of the device."

"I remember calibrating the Nerve Gear. Boy what a pain in my ass that was, especially in the state I'm in." Akira said, leaning back in his chair. Nijika frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You should be thankful though. Even though you are in this state, you can do quite a lot." she said.  
"I can?" he asked.

"Of course, you beat me in a race. Of course it was a bit unfair as I didn't know the layout of the house." she said.

"That's nothing. I'm a pretty fast runner, or was...but I have high hopes for my surgery next week." he said.

"Wait, you're going into surgery? When?" she asked.

"It's on Monday sweetie. The hospital is going to be trying a new type of device, they designed some medical nanobots which supposedly will regenerate all of the damaged parts of Noah's spinal cord." Alice said.

"Yeah, while I was in SAO, the doctors were able to carefully fix all of the broken vertebrae in my back, but my spinal cord was still damaged. Since the rig cut off all nerve receptors to the body, they weren't sure if the surgery was going to help. So they decided to wait until I either made it out, or died." he said.

"Jeez, that's a grim thought." Nijika said, sitting down next to the boy.

"Realistically, it was the only thing we could do. I remember just sitting by his bedside, watching the live feed through the hospitals monitor. Whenever I saw you panting, I knew you were in a fight. Especially after the feed cut off." Alisha said, still busy with her calibration.

"Yeah, there were times where I was worrying about what you guys were doing. But I knew you had faith in me, so I pushed it all aside for I could focus on the game. If I didn't enjoy myself, I knew you two would give me shit for it." he said with a smirk.

"More importantly, the surgery itself will take place between three days. The nanobots will be implanted into Noah, through an IV, but for them to work he needs to be unconscious. So they've approved the use of the Medicuboid, a medical FullDive machine that can put people into a coma. It can also allow them to play games and stay there virtually for weeks, even years if they chose." Alice said.

"It was a machine designed for terminal patients, so those people could live and have fun inside VR games rather than suffer in pain in the real world." Alisha added.

"That's amazing! Who invented something like that? It's a wonderful device!" Nijika said.

"It was created by the same person who invented the Nerve Gear, or so the rumor goes." Akira replied, finishing his water. Alice set down some food before the two teens, who gave her a bright smile.

"Hope you two like it. It isn't anything fancy though." she said.

"Please, plain sandwiches are fine with me. Thanks so much ma'am."

"Oh sweetie, call me Alice. You're practically family now." she said happily.

"I smell sandwiches!" a new voice called out, startling everyone but Akira. The boy glanced over his shoulder, a smile on his face.

"Heya Sapph, who let you in?"

"The door was open." the girl said, walking into the kitchen.

Sapphira looked almost like her avatar, except her hair wasn't a bright green color. It was instead a light shade of auburn, turning a bit of a dark brown as it went down. She was wearing a light jacket, which she had left unzipped. She was wearing a navy blue skirt that reached just past her mid thigh. She was also wearing a pair of black stockings. She had left her shoes at the front door, even though she knew it was okay to wear them inside.

"Sayaka, it's good so see you!"

"Same to you Mrs. M! Sorry about not coming by so often, been too busy at work." she said, taking a seat across from Nijika. She set her bag down on the table, pulling out her laptop. She glanced at Alisha, a smirk on her face.

"Say Al, you having fun with those calibration menus?"

"Shut up Saya before I slap you!" the black haired woman replied.

"So, this is what you look like IRL, you don't look that different than yourself." Nijika said, earning a grin from Sapphira.

"Indeed, just some minor cosmetic changes. You look cute IRL too, especially that hair color." she said happily, earning a grin from the girl. She snagged Akira's half eaten sandwich, taking a bite from it.

"Dude, what the fuck? That's the second sandwich you've taken from me today. Let me feast!" he cried.

"Now now, I'll just make you another one sweetheart." Alice said, grabbing another plate.

"It's alright, you can have half of mine." Nijika said, pushing her plate toward him.

"Aw, their already sharing food. This is so adorable!"

"Mom, please stop embarrassing me in front of my friends!" Akira cried, blushing brightly.

"It's part of life little bro. So Saya, how's work?" Alisha asked, finally finished with her calibration. Sapphira groaned, leaning into her seat.

"It's fucking awful. I'm just an intern, but apparently that doesn't warrant any respect around the office. At least I get paid though, so it's worth it in the end." she replied.

"Sapphira works for this American company, called Zaksir. They are in the process of creating a Sci-Fi VRMMO called Gun Gale Online. It's currently in Pre-Alpha in America, but in Japan they're still getting it set up for the beta test." Akira replied.

"Oh right, I forgot Sapphira was a Beta Tester for SAO. What's the game even about?" Nijika said.

"Well, from what I've heard, the game takes place in a Post Apocalyptic Earth 1000 years in the future. Humanity has gone back to Earth and has started to settle around the area. However monsters have started appearing and in order to reclaim the planet they have to be taken care of. However there are people who have interest in various areas of interest. Which also leads to the main part of the game, PvP. Player teams, or Squads as they are called, can take on monster hunting missions. They can also participate in tournaments and other stuff. That's all I know for now." Sapphira said.

"She spent a week crafting that marvelous resume, detailing her exploits within Sword Art Online. But so far, the company hasn't said anything. Since the CEO of Yvir is a friend of ours, we were hoping he could put in a good word. But Hayato is also there so we haven't been able to approach him without causing issues." Akira said.

"Another reason why he needs to be eliminated." Nijika muttered, nodding to herself.

"So Niji-chan, what do you do for a living?" Sapphira asked, finishing the last of her claimed sandwich. Nijika looked up, a blush on her face.

"Oh um...I work in Akihabara...as a maid." she said.

"You work at a Maid Cafe? No wait...I think I may have seen you there...you look familiar." she said.

"Yes, I started shortly after my rehabilitation. I needed a way to keep my ALO account active. I just needed a way to get back into society you know, I didn't want to be known as an SAO survivor." she said.

"SAO survivor?" Akira asked, eyes widening. Nijika gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oops, that wasn't supposed to come out."

"You were in the game with us? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I...I didn't want you to know. SAO is such a hard topic to bring up, I just...didn't want you to get mad at me. I saw you around a few times while playing ALO and I saw how sad you were. So I made it my personal mission to make you smile." she said.

"So, you know about everything that happened in the game. Why even bother asking me for my story then?" he asked, annoyance in his voice.

"I wanted to get to know you. I know what you did in SAO but I wanted to hear it from you. I wanted to know all about the Violet Assassin and how he got to be one of the best players in the game. You gave people like me, those stuck on Floor 1 a sense of hope. So please don't be mad, I really do want to hear your story." she said, a pleading look on her face. He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"I suppose it's alright. It isn't exactly hard to approach someone and ask them about SAO. Well, I already started my story so I sort of have to continue. We got 45 minutes before were set to log in." Akira said.

"Wait, you promised me you would help me level up." Alisha said.

"And I will, but we're doing a quest right now. By the time we get you through the beginning stuff and high enough of a level for you to handle the quest, it'll be too late. Plus Sakuya is helping us, and getting her help is damn near impossible." he said.

"Aw...alright, but after that quest is over, we're playing together. I wanna spend time with you before I head back to the States for college." she said.

"You got it sis...alright, where did we leave off again?" he asked.

"Oh, you were at the part where you met Hayato." Nijika said.

"Actually, you were past that part...are you sure you want to go on?" Sapphira asked, earning a nod from him.

"Yes, I'm fine with speaking about it. Besides, I want Nijika to know more about my wife." he said, a warm smile on his face.

 _(October 1_ _st_ _2023: Location: Alamos Town: Floor 28 2:25PM AST)_

"Hyrah!"

The sound of the glowing sword skill filled the area, followed by the sound of shattering polygons. With that, the final monster on the field had been taken care of. Akira smiled, giving his friend a grin.

"Good Job Silica, you cleared this field all on your own." he said, hopping down from one of the rocks he had been sitting on. The Dragon Tamer smiled, sheathing her weapon. Pina landed on her head, fluttering its wings a bit.

"It's all thanks to you. I've been leveling up pretty decently, but it's been such a hassle. I finally made it all the way here." she said.

They were in an open field near the main settlement of Alamos Town, a city inspired by the real world location of Barcelona. It also had hints of another place he had seen in a well known anime series, belonging to another well known RPG. The clearing team had made it all the way to the 46th Floor, and were getting ready for the boss raid. His guild was part of that team as well, but they had instead turned their abilities to helping the Intermediate Players level up. It made them well known in Aincrad as the Training Guild.

"You have passed the trials of the field Dovahkiin, but are you ready for the sacred teachings of Alduin? Can you truly channel the inner dragon and form the shout?" Sasha asked in a deep voice, causing the boy to burst into laughter. Silica was of course confused by all of this, so she just fell out of the loop.

"Sasha sweetie, she doesn't get the references." he said.

"Aw, I thought she was a gamer. Skyrim is something we have to give her when we get outta here. Hey, do you think there will be a VR Port of that game?" she asked.

"Maybe, I would pay up the ass for it. Skyrim is the best fucking game ever." Akira said.

"I have to agree, but I want Oblivion to get a remastered version." she admitted, twirling some of her orange hair around her finger. Akira smiled, wrapping his arms around her frame.

"Smart and pretty, and well rounded with games. You just gave me something else to love." he said, nibbling her ear.

"Um guys, still here." Silica said, her face a vibrant red. The two quickly let go of each other, blushing a bit.

Thanks to their marriage, Akira and Sasha had gotten very close to each other. They made it a rule to go on a date every time a floor had been cleared, and so far they had been planning on checking out the next floor. Sapphira had gotten rather angry when she found out, but was other wise fine with it. Nick wouldn't stop making kissy faces, and Morrison was just happy over all. As long as they were happy, that's what mattered. Being married also got rid of the Harassment Pop ups that female players often got, so he was able to get more physical with her.

"Sorry Silica, do you wanna start heading toward the labyrinth? There are some stronger monsters there, that should get you up to level 37." he said.

"Nah, I think I'm good for today. I sort of promised these guys on Floor 21 that I would handle a quest with them." she said, opening her menu.

"Silica, are you sure you're alright? I know ever since you tamed Pina, people have begged you to party with them but...are you truly safe?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"I'll be fine Akira-san. I'm strong enough to handle the monsters, and the people that party with me are really nice. Even if they see me as a poster girl or an idol." she said, a frown on her face. Sasha opened her menu, humming to herself.

"Well, I got the thing to cheer you up. It's time for some new armor." she said, opening the trade menu. She placed several pieces of armor, along with a new weapon for her to use.

"Oh Sasha-san, I can't accept these...not without paying you."

"Don't worry about it. Ashley tailored all of these for our guild, anyone who passes our training courses gets some new armor. They should raise your stats by a few levels, at least until we get to the high Fifties." she said, hitting the send button.

"Thank you so much you guys. I can't express how much this means to me!" she said.

"Sckreeew!" Pina cried out, landing on Akira's head. He chuckled, petting the dragon's head.

"You're welcome. If you need anymore help leveling up, just shoot us a message." Akira said.

"Okay, thank you guys again. Come on Pina, let's go back." Silica said, earning a loud cry from her partner. The two headed off toward Alamos Town, most likely to teleport back to the 21st Floor.

"We finished the quest to train the rambunctious Dovahkiin! What do we do now Balgruff?" Sasha asked, turning to her husband, who had an annoyed look on his face.

"You wanna know something, Balgruff would have been a fucking awesome player name." he said, crossing his arms.

"Oh come on, too late for that. Besides you don't look like a Balgruff...you look like an Akira. A very handsome Akira might I add." she said, giving him a smirk.

"Well beautiful, there's a dungeon on Floor 45 that hasn't been explored yet. You wanna head there?" he asked.

"Oh, is this a date?"

"Maybe." he said, giving her a grin. She giggled, giving him a nod. The two of them started heading back into Alamos Town. They passed by a few other players, who gave them happy waves, while others just settled on nodding. Once they made it to the Teleport Gate, the stood in the center, taking a deep breath.

"Teleport: Ant Hill!"

In a flash, they were teleported to the 45th Floor. It was an odd floor to say the least. The entire floor was just that, a giant ant hill. All of the monsters there were bug class monsters, ants, crickets and beetles. The Floor boss had been a giant Wasp, that ended up calling several Hornet minions. It had been hard but the Clearing Party was able to take them down in less than an hour, giving them access to Floor 46 the same day the labyrinth was discovered. That left many places unexplored, and since the Intermediate players stayed down in the Twenties, only experienced guilds and players ever came up there.

"So, where exactly is this place?" Sasha asked. He opened his map, sending her the information.

"It's near the labyrinth. It actually leads inside one of the Ant hills." he replied.

"Okay, I'm down to explore it." she said, resting a hand on her javelin.

Akira took the lead, heading down the path extending from the teleport gate. Another thing about the 45th Floor was that it lacked a settlement. It was one of the reasons the clearing team wanted to be out of the place as fast as possible. They didn't want to stick on the 44th Floor for longer than they needed, and it was a hassle to teleport back and forth.

As they left the largest Ant Hill, walking more toward the labyrinth, Akira and Sasha started looking around. There were a few Fire Ant enemies, but they really didn't feel like going after them. Due to all of the help they had been giving the low leveled players, they didn't have much time to level grind themselves. Akira had made it to level 64, but had gotten himself in a level rut. Sasha was a close second, being level 62. Everyone else, including Sapphira had been around level 55, something that annoyed the green haired girl.

Sapphira had also given up on using the Two Handed Great Sword. She had seen Nick using it and had decided it would be a hassle to level up a whole new set of skills. So instead she was working on leveling up her One Handed Sword, which she was close to maxing out. Akira felt Sasha take a hold of his hand, making him smile a bit.

"It's been a few days since we did something like this. I wish we didn't get so many requests all the time."

"I know you want more time off dear, but we need to help out our fellow players. There's been a significant decrease in Player Deaths, so if our services are helping out, then we need to take them seriously." he said.

"I know...but we never even had a honeymoon." she said. He smirked, brow raised above his head.

"You actually think you're ready for that part of our relationship? We've only been dating two months." he said.

"But we're married, so that means something." she added.

"I..guess so...no foreplay." he said.

"Pfft...what?" she asked.

"I dunno, I find it...weird." he said.

"It's not like it'll be real, we're in virtual bodies. Which thankfully we don't have to wash off...I'm so glad for that stuff. If I had to shower here, I'm sure my hair would have fallen out from how many times I would have to wash it." she said, running a hand over her orange hair.

"That's one thing I want to ask you, does the carpet match the drapes?" he asked. Her eyes widened and she started coughing a bit, having choked on her own spit. She glared at him, striking him with her shield, though it didn't do much damage. Thankfully her cursor didn't change either.

"What kind of question is that? You don't ask you're wife that type of perverted question." she snapped.

"You're the one who wants to have sex, I was just mentally preparing myself!" he cried out.

"If you must know, it's shaved." she replied, a blush on her cheeks.

"Thank you...that's all I needed to know. Heads up, we're here."

The path ended near the bridge that lead to the labyrinth tower. There was another path that split up, heading toward a cavern like hill. It looked like a bunch of solid sand, with spires towering above them, each having a decent sized hole in it. There were a few enemies walking in and out of the holes, the sound of munching being heard through the area.

"Termites...joyous." he said, walking toward the cave.

"Akira, I'm a little nervous...what if we get attacked?" she asked.

"Sweetheart, we're the only ones on this floor. My searching skill didn't detect anyone at all." he said.

"Exactly my point. I know our friends will keep an eye on our HP bars while we're in the field but...I dunno I just...don't want anything bad happen." she said. He nodded, placing his hands on her shoulders. He brought their lips together in a passionate kiss.

"It'll be fine! We're both over level 60, and if there is a Mid Level Boss in there that gives us trouble, we can just leave." he said.

"Okay...I trust you." she replied.

"Don't worry Princess, I promise to get you out of this game." he said, once again heading toward the cavern entrance.

They fought some of the Termites near the entrance, eliminating them with ease. They ended up dropping a lot of hard Termite Exoskeletons and some Sharp Jaw Bones, which would no doubt help them out in the long run. As they continued walking inside, they noticed the cave had started growing darker. Akira quickly materialized an oil lamp, holding it high above his head to keep the area lit up.

"I've never been inside an ant hill before."

"There's this one guy who casts ant hills with molten aluminum. There was one that was really big, and he ended up putting it in an Art Museum in France." he said.

"That's cool, I'd like to see it some day." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Definitely...we can go there once we get outta this hell hole." he added.

As they continued walking, the ended up taking out several more ants and other bugs that had gotten in the colony. They finally made it to the deepest part, seeing several holes on the top of the chamber, letting the sunlight in.

"I don't see anything...think someone got here before us?" Sasha asked.

"Maybe...I doubt it though, unless Kirito was here." he said, walking into the room.

The entire room started shaking, bits of sand dropping all around them. Akira glanced up, seeing a set of beady eyes. The creature screeched loudly before dropping in front of them. It was giant Termite, much bigger than the other ones. It had bright red skin and sharp looking jaws. For some reason, it also had a golden crown on its head. Its cursor finally appeared, along with the five HP bars that curved around it.

"The Termite Queen. I don't think this is a Mid Level Boss." Sasha said.

"I agree, this is probably a Secret Boss for this floor. It's cursor isn't black, so that means it shouldn't give us trouble. Stay behind me and while I draw aggro." he said, activating a few buffs, along with his EXP Gain buff. He cast PTT Seal and Healing Circle just in case. Drawing his Claymore, he raced forward, striking the creatures jaw. It screeched again, turning to face him.

"Alright Sasha, I'll bring it this way, try to throw your Javelin between the exoskeleton." he said, throwing some slashes at its face. Sasha raced forward, her Javelin glowing a bright orange. With a shout the threw it forward, slamming it straight into the giant ant's body. She easily caught her weapon, delivering some heavy slashes with the blade.

"Savage Fulcrum!" Akira cried out, activating his level five sword skill. The Queen Ant was stunned a bit from the attack, and at the same time Akira was frozen in place.

"Quick Sasha, switch in!" he cried.

"You got it sweetie!" she cried, running toward the ant's face. She slammed her Javelin into its face, drawing its aggro. Akira was finally able to move, allowing him to attack the side of the monster.

After awhile of tag teaming, and some time spent healing, the two were able to defeat the creature. The Experience they gained was enough to raise them a single level, and they managed to get some good drops from it too. The pair closed their menus, finally calming down a bit.

"That was far easier than I thought."

"We are bit over leveled for this area. That boss was most likely around level fifty-three or so. It was a bit on the easy side but the pressure was still there." he replied.

"Yeah...so what now? We beat this dungeon and I doubt anyone is going to come by soon." she said.

"I dunno, wanna head back to Mishe? Share our earnings with the guild?" he asked.

"Maybe...we could take our time?" she asked, giving him a puppy look.

"Oh uh...I suppose so." he said, closing his menu. Sasha huffed, crossing her arms.

"Jeez, will you just hurry up and ravage me? I'm sick of waiting." she cried.

"Sweetheart, don't you want to wait until we leave this game?" he asked.

"Normally I would but you never know when your time will be up. Please...I just want to have this special moment with you. I've already turned off my Ethics Code." she said.

"Really? Wow I...didn't think you would come prepared...this isn't exactly the best place. We're in an ant hill." he said, looking around.

"I brought a blanket...besides don't you want to leave this game and have a story to tell? Hey man, I totally fucked my girl in an ant hill. Shit was tight." she said, deepening her voice.

"Okay, I do not sound like that." he said.

"Yes you do...I didn't want to say anything, but you sort of sound like a girl...which is why you deepen your voice a bit, right?" she asked.

"I do not sound like a girl, that's crazy...that's crazy!" he cried out.

"I'm only kidding...so please...let's just...have some fun?" she asked, giving him a pleading look.

He sighed, opening his menu. Once he was in his Settings, he scrolled down to the Ethics Code, hovering his finger over it. After a few seconds he clicked on it, turning it off. He saw the red E/O mark, which meant his Ethics Code had been shut off. He heard Sasha pulling out some things from her menu, one of them being the blanket.

"Monsters don't respawn right?" she asked.

"Not Bosses. Once their taken down they're gone for good." he said.

"Good, I wouldn't want to be in the middle of this and have to fight that ant again." she said. She paused briefly, moving to her mannequin. All of her armor flashed off, leaving her in her underwear. Lacy underwear, which was very very orange. She blushed a bit, covering herself up.

"Hurry up." she said.

"Okay." he said.

He hadn't seen a girl naked, let alone has sex with one. Sure he had seen that secret stash in his father's office, but that didn't mean he was an expert. His shaking hands moved through the menu, as he slowly unequipped everything but his boxers. Sasha walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
"Hey, don't be nervous. We're in a game so it's alright...I love you Akira."

"Noah...my name is Noah." he said. She smiled, hugging him tightly.

"Samantha."

"Samantha...that's a beautiful name."

"Thank you." she said softly, capturing his lips shortly after.

Xxx

"Yo, let me stop you right there. I don't want to hear the story of how you got your dick wet." Sapphira said, glaring at Akira, who huffed angrily.

"As if I was going to actually continue that. It's bad enough my parents saw it, I don't want to actually explain it in detail." he said.

"You're parents saw it?" Nijika asked, eyes wide as saucers.

"Yeah, the idiot set his twitch account to stream it. I remember dad saying "Get Some" rather loudly. We ended up having to leave the room." Alisha said firmly. Akira slammed his head against the table, groaning in shame.

"My life is over." he said.

"It's alright, it couldn't have been that bad." Nijika said.

"You'd be surprised, those two went on for an hour. Thanks to VR technology, virtual sex isn't like the real thing. For some reason, Kayaba made it so people felt more pleasure from the act itself. And since it's a game, there's no risk of pregnancy. Two teenagers alone in a dungeon? Yeah they aren't leaving for awhile." Sapphira said, taking a sip of her lukewarm tea.

"Why don't we just skip over the sexapades? I'm quite interested in hearing this." Alice said, having been listening intently, even though she had seen everything up to that point.

"Ugh...fine...nothing of importance happened after that, other than training...so I'll just...skip ahead to..the day it happened."

 _(December 1_ _st_ _2023: Location: Floor 50 Boss Room: 10:04AM)_

"Can you guys believe this? The boss room was found last night, and it's almost Christmas! Do you think there's gonna be a special event?" Sapphira asked.

"Why would there be a special event, what is there to celebrate?" Aries asked curiously.

"Christmas of course! Maybe we'll get lucky and NPCs will hand out some candy, and there will be holiday cheer and figgy pudding, or even some healing items." Sapphira said, quite excited over the holiday. Akira shook his head.

"Right, as if Kayaba would celebrate that of all holidays, especially with healing items of all things." he said.

"You never know...there was that cute event on Floor 47." Sasha said.

"Which only works for married couples...come on sweetheart don't forget such trivial things." he said, kissing her nose. She giggled, pecking his lips instead.

"Alright you two, enough of that. Commander Heathcliff is about to speak." their Vice Commander said.

Heathcliff was a tall imposing man, most likely the oldest player in SAO, due to his given age. He had long silver hair, tied in a ponytail, with a small rat tail hanging from the side. He was wearing some heavy armor, which was colored a bright crimson red. He had a full body shield on his arm, with a long sword at his hip. Asuna stood next to him, a hand on her rapier.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, today marks the day we defeat the 50th Floor, and claim our victory in this endeavor. For after this, only 50 floors remain. It will be a long grueling battle, but together we will reach Floor 100. Let's not give in a single inch, we will beat this game." he said.

"Yeah!" everyone cried out cheerfully.

"Remember guys, this is a milestone floor, the boss is going to be far stronger than any other thing we have faced. Focus on DPS but if your HP falls in the yellow, then pull out." Akira said, trying to speak over the sound of the doors opening. The boss may have been priority, but to him, his friends were more important.

They all walked into the room, a large square like battle ground, made entirely out of concrete like blocks. It was completely dark within the room, with only the light from the hallway illuminating the entrance. Suddenly, brilliant orange flames erupted, lighting up several large torches on the sides of the room. A loud metallic creak echoed through the room, followed by a loud slam that kicked up a cloud of dust.

The Floor boss was a giant golden statue. It seemed to be a praying Buddha, and was floating off the ground. Two of its arms were in a prayer clasp, while the four other arms stuck out of its back, all of them forming fists. Seven HP bars appeared around it, along with the name. The Six Armed Golden Buddha. Akira swallowed hard, drawing his sword from his hip.

"Alright, Knights of Blood, Forward!" Heathcliff cried out, holding his sword up. His entire guild shot forward, racing toward the metallic statue. A few of the other Parties and Solo Players ran forward as well.

"Aries, Morrison you two are up, focus on damage. Sapphira you and Nick focus on destroying the arms. Sasha you and I will handle the back side." Akira called out, issuing his orders to his friends.

"Understood!"

the party of six split up, going to their designated spots. Akira let out a shout as he slashed the Buddha statue in the back, leaving a light scratch on it. He threw another slash, not even making a scratch.

"Shit, the metal skin is stopping me from using Slash attacks." he cried.

"Then we'll just have to stab the fucker!" Sasha said, thrusting her glowing Javelin into its back. In the blink of an eye, twenty five holes have been left on the creature, causing it to turn around. Sasha grit her teeth, trying to raise her shield.

"Sasha!" Akira cried, throwing one of his skills at the statue. Its arm clashed with his sword, sending sparks in all directions. It roared in anger, punching them with another arm, sending them flying back into the stairs.

"Akira, are you alright?" Sapphira cried, dodging a few hits.

"We're fine, just focus on your tasks!" the teen cried, holding a healing crystal above his head. His HP was steadily increasing, while Sasha had cast Healing Circle, buffing their entire party.

"Looks like we found its weakness. That's most likely why it attacked." Sasha said.

"Well, I would be pissed too if I was stabbed in the back. Let's go, I'll keep the arms away from you while you do some damage." he said, running back into the fray.

The two of them worked solidly, dealing heavy bouts of damage while backing off when they needed. Their guild seemed to be the most in sync with each other, something that impressed Heathcliff quite a bit. He smirked inwardly, glancing right at Akira, who was in the middle of a sword skill.

After an hour or so, they had managed to bring the Buddha down to its second to last HP bar. Everyone was tired and had lost some HP, along with various other players who had been caught in an attack. The creature had gone berserk for a few seconds, throwing hundreds of blinding punches, each one doing enough damage to kill various players in a few hits. Heathcliff had called his guild back to heal, leaving some of the well off players to handle the boss. Akira jumped back, glancing at Nick.

"Alright, we're almost there...how many skills can you use?" he asked.

"Most of them, the others are in cool down. My PTT Seal is about to wear off." he said.

"Alright, then let's go with some heavy hits!" he said, dashing forward. Buddha threw several punches at him, only for him to avoid them with ease. It was as if he was disappearing from the field, flashing from one spot to the next. He jumped onto one of the arms, racing up it with his sword raised. It glowed a brilliant violet.

"Vertical!" he shouted, slamming his sword into the statues head. A loud metal clang rung through the field as the sword made contact with the head. Buddha howled in pain, grabbing Akira while he was falling. He pulled his arm back, slamming Akira into the ground, a loud cry of pain escaping his lips.

"Akira!" Nick cried, racing instead toward his friend. Buddha slammed its fist into the armored teenager, sending him flying back, a Stun status appearing on his HP bar. The teenager grit his teeth, grabbing his sword. He glanced at his HP seeing that it was near the red, and slowly filling up. With a shout, he activated Savage Fulcrum, slamming his sword into one of the arms, only for the blade to snap completely in half. His eyes widened in complete shock as the other half of the blade flew across the air.

All of it seemed slow motion for him as the giant swung its fist at him. He tried to move away but wasn't able to move in time. He saw a flash of orange move in front of him, taking the brunt of the impact while pushing him away. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. He glanced up, seeing Sasha flying to the other side of the room, slamming into the wall.

"Sasha!" he shouted, pulling himself to his feet. Hot tears fell from his eyes as he ran toward his wife, keeping his eyes on her HP bar. The bar finally hit zero, beeping three times as her body burst into polygons. He slowed to a stop, dropping to his knees.

"Akira."

The boy didn't react at all. He just remained stock still, watching as all of the polygons slowly disappeared from the area. Buddha let out a roar, throwing a punch right at the boy, though it was blocked by Nick and his Great Sword.

"Akira, fucking move!" he shouted.

"B-But...Sasha...she..."

Nick roared in anger, pushing the arm away. Thankfully the others were able to draw aggro away from them for the time being. Nick grabbed Akira by his collar, pulling him to his feet. His face was soaked in tears, and he was trying to keep it together.

"Listen! We need to focus on the boss or else all of us will die. Get back in the game!" he shouted.

"Fuck you! Don't you see she's dead!" Akira shouted, retching his friend away from him. He glanced up at Buddha, seeing it had been lowered to its final HP bar. His sword was broken and he didn't have anything else to fight with. He grit his teeth in anger, clenching his fists tightly.

" _Sasha...I promised I would get you out of here...why...why did you have to die?"_ He thought to himself.

He eyes fell on an object sticking out of the ground. It was a Javelin, Sasha's Javelin. He forgot, since they were married, their weapons automatically transferred to their storage upon death. He didn't see her shield anywhere, but he was sure he didn't need it. He grit his teeth and broke into a sprint, running right toward it.

"Akira, what are you doing?" Morrison shouted.

"Cover him, he's still not in the yellow!" Sapphira cried, running after her friend.

Akira roared in anger, jumping right over Buddha's arm, he landed in a roll, grabbing the Javelin from the ground without missing a bit. He dodged another hit, stabbing the Javelin right into the creatures chest. He pulled it out and spun on his heel, driving it deeper than the last time.

"You Mother fucker, you took something special from me!" he shouted in anger.

Buddha threw another punch at him, and he easily avoided it. He jumped onto its arm, running right up it. He shouted in anger, slamming the weapon right through its left eye. The Javelin ended up breaking on him, half of it still stuck inside the statue's eye socket. He fell to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. He grabbed a Grand Potion from his pocket and downed its contents, his HP steadily rising.

"Akira are you insane? This thing could kill you!" Sapphira cried out.

"I don't give a fuck! This thing killed her, he fucking killed her. And if anyone tries to stop me from killing it, I will end their existence!" he shouted, just as the last of the Javelin disappeared from his hand. Sapphira bit her lip, holding her own tears back. She tossed him her sword, giving him a nod.

"Take it, and finish this off. For Sasha!" she cried.

He gave her a nod, once again running forward. He felt everything slow down for him again, as he slowly approached the creature. He had done enough damage with the javelin to bring it down, and the others were still hitting it. Once it had reached the last few bits of HP, everyone backed away, allowing him to get the final hit.

" _This is for you Sasha...I'm sorry."_

"Phantom Rave!" he shouted, his blade exploded with pent up energy, glowing a brilliant red. He jabbed the sword forward, spinning on his heel to deliver a fierce slash. He brought the blade up, grabbing it with both his hands he pulled it down hard. He spun the sword over his head with expert skill, delivering three rapid slashes. He flipped the sword back, the blade facing away from him. With a final angry shout, he brought the blade up, swinging it in an upward arc.

Buddha howled in pain, his body swelling a bit before it exploded into a myriad of polygons. The sudden wave was enough to knock Akira off his feet, his weapon clanging to the ground. He just lay there, not really moving. He finally just let go of everything, letting an anguished cry of rage and sadness.

Xxx

Akira sighed, rubbing his eyes a bit. He looked at everyone around him, giving them a sad smile.

"Sorry, I just..."

"Don't be, you got nothing to apologize for." Nijika said. Sapphira nodded, grabbing a napkin to wipe the streaks of mascara from her face.

"I was there, and it hurt like hell...but somehow it hurts more hearing it from another persons perspective. Nick, Morrison...Aries...I wonder how they're doing?" she said.

"After we woke up, and were well enough to move around, we all met up at the cemetery. We ended up saying our goodbyes to both Sasha and Keisha, who were buried here in Japan. Their parents actually live in Ginza. I often visit them to see how their doing." Akira said.

"The only time he actually leaves the house...I wish I could have met Samantha in person. She seemed like a lovely young woman." Alice said.

"Of course she was...she was my wife after all. I just fell into depression after that, so much so that I ended up selling all of her things to some low leveled players. I however still have her shield. I asked the guys at Yvir to make it an Immortal Object. It sits on display at the Monument of Swordsmen, a proud reminder of the hardships we all faced in Aincrad." he said.

"Maybe we should take a bit of break from this story." Nijika suggested, earning nods from the others. Akira however remained quiet, thinking about the girl that had stolen his heart.


	14. Aincrad Arc: Grand Quest

**A/N: Heeeyooo, Celestial Sky Dragon here bringing you another chapter of the Violet Assassin.**

 **Yes, after the last chapter we must continue Akira's tale as he traversed the floors of Aincrad. What happened to him on the 50th Floor was the first of many things that occurred during his time there. Not everyone was going to make it and he knew that, but he always had a sliver of hope that he could get his friends out alive. Sadly sacrifices have to be made in order to reach the top, something that drives Akira into his state of depression. He like Kirito spends time level grinding. So he might seem a bit over powered, but I don't really care about that right now.**

 **As for this new chapter, we will be stepping into the first chapter delving into Sword Art Online's first Grand Quest. I say first because I might add in one later on, but for now there's only one. If you can point out the references for this entire arc, you shall recieve a cookie, but not just any cookie, the grandest most delicious cookie in the universe. There are going to be references to other games and series all throughout this story, so do enjoy them.**

 **Also, I have made a decision, since I like Abridged Kayaba better than regular Kayaba, that's the person I'm going to be writing in this story. He's going to be serious as Heathcliff to not raise any suspicions, but once he is unmasked he will be going all out. I did this because I feel that this version of him has way more character than the original one, and he's much more derserving of everythign that's going on. So yes, Abridged Kayaba will be in my story. Idk if Akira will become a proxy for Abridged Kirito, but he's quickly heading in that direction. I'll try not to get them all mixed up.**

 **Well, I hope you like this new chapter...tell me what you all think...see ya.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 14

Grand Quest

Akira and his friends walked through the city of Alne. It had been around twenty minutes since they had logged in. Sakuya and Alicia had been waiting for them at the base of the tree. After some pleasantries and some light teasing, the party of five set off to search for Udyr. However, they weren't having any luck whatsoever. So after a few minutes, they decided to head up to Yggdrasil City. The magic elevator had taken some time, but it had finally left them at the entrance of the new capital.

Much like the lower city, Yggdrasil City was heavily populated, by both NPC and Players alike. It was also were some of the more prominent player establishments were, including Agil's Shop and Lisbeth's Smithy. Akira walked around, humming to himself.  
"You know, I haven't fully explored this place. I mean, other than Agil and Lisbeth's places, I haven't felt the need to walk around." he admitted.

"Jeez, you really don't know how to take advantage of a place. Yggdrasil City is the second biggest city in all of Alfheim. It may not beat the Town of Beginnings in size, but it does in beauty. I actually own a house here." Sapphira said, a proud look on her face.

"Oh, can we go see? I wanna jump on your bed!"

"No Rue, we can't we're on a quest." Sakuya snapped, causing the girl to deflate.

"Hey, what if we all split up? We can search for the quest NPC much easier that way. I know my way around so I can guide Akira." Rain said.

"That's just an excuse to be alone with him." Sapphira snapped.

"Hey, that isn't fair! I wanna go with Akira."

"Nope, It's my turn to spend time with him."

"Uh guys, he's gone." Rain said, pointing to the spot where the Imp had been a second ago. They looked around, not spotting him anywhere.

"Man, his sneaking skills are really good." Sapphira said.

"Come on, let's go see if we can find him." Sakuya said, earning nods from the others. The four girls started walking toward the center of town, only for Rain to have her arm grabbed. She was pulled into a nearby alleyway, a chuckle filling her ears.

"Finally, I didn't want to be caught in that war."

"Akira, you scared the hell out of me!" Rain said, slapping his arm.

"Sorry, I just hate when they all fight for my attention. I'm not sure if Sakuya likes me or not, it's hard to tell with her. I'm sure Alicia likes me, and Sapphira...hell she's had a crush on me for the longest time. I'm just not interested in them that way." he admitted, leaning against the wall.

"Oh, then who are you interested in?" Rain asked curiously, crossing her arms.

"I'm not telling, that's a trade secret." he said, giving her a wink. She huffed, walking past him.

"Whatever, let's go search for that NPC already."

"Um okay...I guess I can continue my story as we search...but you know I want to hear about you too sometime. What did you do in SAO?" he asked.

"Oh...I just stayed in the Town of Beginnings. I didn't really do much of anything, other than farm money. When I had saved up enough, I moved to Taft to avoid the ALS. That's it really." she said with a shrug.

"I uh...didn't know you did that...for all two years?"

"Mhmm...pretty boring right?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes, somehow not believing her.

She had a sparkle in her eye, one that screamed at him. It told him of her love of the VR world. He doubted she actually stayed in Taft for the remainder of the game. She heard of his exploits, sometimes adding in her own versions of what he said. She must have been to the higher floors at some point. But for now he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"Sorry, I know my story isn't nearly as interesting as yours...that's one of the reasons why I want to know more about you." she admitted.

"Fair enough...I guess I can start with my bout of crippling depression after reaching Floor 51."

xxx

 _(December 15_ _th_ _2023: Location Myujen Floor 49: 9:03PM)_

Akira sighed as he walked through the snow covered town. Ever since the boss fight on the 50th Floor, he hadn't spoken to anyone. He had just lost his will to live. Sapphira had been constantly messaging him, but he just didn't reply back. Once he reached the 51st Floor, he disbanded his guild, saying he didn't want to loose anyone else, before leaving Mishe. He just wanted to be alone, so he took several quests that had been unfulfilled on the 49th Floor and started power leveling. He had easily reached level 74 in the two weeks he had left the lower floors.

Now he just felt content from walking around in the cold. Vendors were selling Hot Chocolate and other holiday goods, players and NPCs were coming to the plaza to watch the lights on the Christmas tree. It was a bustling city, one of the most populated on the 49th Floor.

He sat down at an empty bench, not bothering to brush the snow away from it at all. He looked up at the Christmas tree, an expressionless look on his face. He exhaled, a small cloud of mist escaping through his lips.

"Hey asshole, I've been looking for you."

He blinked once, glaring at the source of the voice. It was Hayato...Sasha's cousin. Ever since she had died, he had been harassing him almost daily. He had grown so used to it that it didn't even bother him anymore. The man knew he stood no chance against Akira, so all he did was verbally abuse him. He blinked once, glancing away from him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you look like someone ripped your soul outta you! It's actually kinda satisfying." he said.

"Did you come here for something? Or just to insult me?" he asked, his voice was soft, free of emotion.

"I came here for my daily cut...after all you owe me for letting my cousin die. Heh, some husband you turned out to be." he said. Akira grit his teeth and stood up, grabbing a hold of the man's jacket.

"Ah ah ah, attack me and you get an orange cursor."

"That's in the field asshole. Here in town, I can beat the hell out of you endlessly without any penalties. You think you can use your cousins name to get shit from me?" Akira said, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Well of course I can, after all you made a promise. A promise you couldn't keep, so I have to collect some money. After all I have to make it out of here so I can tell her family. My aunt and uncle need to know just how this horrible event happened." he said, pursing his lips a bit.

"You are a real piece of shit you know that?" Akira growled, letting the man go. He spun on his heel, walking away from him.

"Hey, what about my money?"

"Why don't you go out there and fucking earn it you asshole. I'm not gonna bust my ass making money for you. So you can go fuck yourself, or you can try and kill me...either way you lose in the end." he said, walking toward the teleporter. Hayato watched the teenager disappear, anger written on his face.

Akira sighed with relief as he found himself on the 31st Floor. The main settlement was known as Aquaria. It was the floor of endless rain. Apparently there's an event where you can change the weather, but no one bothered to figure out how it was done. Akira didn't particularly care either, he relished in the rain, almost as much as he loved the darkness Mishe provided him. He walked off the teleporter, a frown on his face. He pulled his hood over his head, walking down the empty streets.

Over the course of his power leveling, he had acquired a brand new set of gear from Ashley. She had heard what happened and had insisted he get some new stuff free of charge. No matter how much she told him not to pay, he did so anyway. His new cloak was a deep shade of violet, with golden trimming around the edges. It was a half cloak, which only reached to about his back. He had a shoulder guard on his left shoulder, with a violet cape attached to it, which reached down to his waist, the inside being a vibrant red color. Around his waist, he had a waist coat, which was a vibrant purple color, and had more golden thread, along with an Eagle on it. It covered his brown leather pants, along with his black boots.

Around his waist, he had a metal plate which severed his his armor. The metal piece itself was made of tempered steel, having some etched markings on it, along with a Phoenix in the center, an homage to his fallen wife. Over his arms he had metal arm guards, made of the same tempered steel as his chest plate. He was wearing a pair of leather gloves, which were brown on the bottom and black on the top. Behind his back, was his new dagger. It was one that Lisbeth had made called Crest of the Condor. It had been made out of the purest ores he could find on the 50th Floor dungeon. She was also another person who insisted he didn't pay, but instead he just gave her some extra ore he wouldn't be using. She had been the last person he had spoken too.

As he walked through the city however, he felt a sense of dread in his mind. He didn't know why but a dark cloud hung over the city. It was always raining, which deterred people from ever coming to it, but that didn't mean shady people didn't show up every once and a while. He ducked into an alleyway and quickly climbed one of the buildings, jumping into the roof.

He moved quietly, not wanting to attract attention to himself. He reached the end of the building and jumped onto the next one, making sure not to slip. As he walked however he noticed a hooded person looking around. They ducked into a building, which turned out to be a pub. Akira hissed quietly to himself.

" _If I go in there, I'll definitely get noticed...maybe I can sneak in."_

He jumped down from the building, hiding behind some barrels. A few low leveled players walked by, chatting amiably amidst the rain. They didn't even notice him. Having maxed out his hiding skill, it made him practically invisible to anyone and everyone around him. He wouldn't appear on the map unless he made a mistake, like step on a twig or speak. It was definitely a useful skill. He quickly dashed across the street, jumping onto the window of the pub. He held his hand against the glass and slowly slid the window up, surprised that it was open. He quickly climbed inside.

He found himself on the second floor. He noticed that it was actually a mezzanine, and that the bar doubled as an inn. He crept toward the railing, carefully looking over it. There were only five cursors visible, meaning they were the only players in the bar, and everyone else was an NPC.

" _Maybe I should get closer."_ he thought. He glanced up, noticing some rafters above him. He smirked to himself and quickly stood up, jumping onto the nearest one. He pulled himself up with ease, shimming along the rafters until he was directly above the players.

"Okay, so we agree this is the place?" one man said.

"Yes, that item is worth quite a lot. If we can get it away from my wife, I'll be able to sell it. Do you have the money?" another player asked. He had a hood on so Akira couldn't see his face.

"Of course we have the money. We wouldn't be risking ourselves like this would we?" the third man said, earning a nod from the second.

"Alright...so now we need to get the item. My guild is split on selling it, three of us voted to keep it, but my wife voted to sell it. I don't know exactly when she's going too, but she's thinking about heading to that bastard Agil to appraise it."

"We can't let her do that can we? You are married to her right?" the fourth man asked.

"Of course, why is that?"

"You idiot, when two players marry, the get shared inventory space. We found that out when that kid lost his girl on the 50th Floor two weeks ago. Man you should have seen him crying, dumb ass."

Akira grit his teeth in anger. He wanted nothing more than to see that bastard suffer in the darkest pits of hell. But he kept his cool, knowing his spot would be compromised.

"Ah yes, I completely forgot about this...wait...are you suggesting I..murder my wife?" the man asked.

"You want the money right? No item no money...I'm sure you'll make the right call." the first said.

"But I can't, I love her."

"Listen man, there's no evidence that if you die in here, you'll die IRL. So maybe by killing her here, you'll set her free over there. Think about it, would you rather her suffer in here, or live out there?" the third man asked.

" _That idiot, the Nerve Gear was designed with Microwaves, as soon as she dies her brain is going to be turned into a Hot Pocket."_ Akira screamed in his mind. The man however sighed, standing up from his seat.

"Alright, I'll take care of it. I'll make it so that one of our friends, takes the heat...but I don't want to go orange." he said.

"Don't worry about it. After a few hours, your cursor will turn green again, just wait in some low level dungeon on the first floor until the time comes. Or for an added fee, we could get someone else to do it."

"No, I can handle it...you've done enough...I'll have the item for you before Christmas Eve. She should be busy planning our next raid, so I can just pull her away for a date and finish her off." the man said.

"Pleasure doing business with you...it's people like you that'll make the name Laughing Coffin big in this game." the last man said. He had remained silent for the most part. He was also wearing a black cloak as opposed to the others who were wearing brown cloaks. Akira narrowed his eyes.

" _Laughing Coffin? Is that a guild name? I don't remember there ever being a guild like that."_ he thought to himself. He decided he had heard enough and carefully snuck out of the bar. Once outside, he decided to trail behind the other man, who was walking straight to the Teleporter. However he disappeared as soon as he stepped on it, ending Akira's trail.

"Shit, I wasn't close enough to hear what floor he was going too." he muttered to himself.

He glanced up at the rumbling clouds, a frown on his face. He wondered why he had gained a sudden interest in this thing. Over the last two weeks he had spent leveling up those special skills, his hiding, sneaking and listening skills had been maxed out. It gave him a lot of perks too, being able to detect any monster or player within a floor, as long as he had seen them once. He sighed, glancing over his shoulder. He dashed toward the teleporter, having heard footsteps behind him.

"Teleport: Grand Pulse!" he exclaimed, disappearing in a flash.

He sighed, having appeared on the 41st Floor. The entire floor had been a place known only as Grand Pulse. It was another floor that didn't have a main settlement, thus it was cleared two days after it was reached. The entire area was swarming with wildlife, most of it hostile. There was also an optional super boss called Long Gui, that was seen walking around the entire place. It was so big, that it nearly reached the bottom of the next floor. As soon as people saw it, they ran away from it, not wanting to even attempt a fight with it.

Stepping off the teleporter, he decided to take the main path away from the middle of the field. He knew that if he kept walking he would reach the lost city of Paddra, an abandoned ruin. It was a bit cold on Grand Pulse however. He remembered the first time they had entered that floor, it had been blazing hot. But now that it was winter, most of the floors had changed to reflect the season. He reached the edge of the ruins, taking a seat at one of the large pieces of stone from the ruined city.

"Laughing Coffin, a mysterious guild with shady players. And that hooded fellow, planing his wife's murder. God that bastard pisses me off, how could he just kill the woman he loves?" he cried angrily.

Sword Art Online was many things, but the two most important things that stood above everything was life and survival. Once could classify them as the same thing, but Akira of course valued both of those things. He couldn't survive in SAO if he didn't live, and in order to live one had to push forward. Love was a great thing, so it made living and survival all the better. So the fact that one man was planning to kill the woman he loved, it really sickened him. Sadly, he didn't know who they were so tracking them down wasn't an option.

"Damn it, what exactly do I do...I can't just trail those Coffin guys. One or two I might be able to handle, but a group is beyond the question. Plus their all green, so if I attack them, I'll go orange." he muttered.

He lost himself in thought wondering what he could do. There wasn't exactly anything he could do in his position. He just couldn't do anything.

He sighed in defeat and stood up, heading back toward the teleporter. He felt useless, not having scored a single clue on who that man's wife was or when she was going to be killed. Without knowing those two things, following up on it would be useless. He stepped onto the teleporter, uttering the words to take him back to Myujen. Once there, he walked himself back toward his bench and sat down, facing the Christmas tree.

"Well, you don't look very merry. What are you doing here Violet Assassin?"

Akira glanced over his shoulder, seeing a familiar catty grin. He smiled a bit, happy to see a familiar face. It was of course his information broker, Argo also known as The Rat in Aincrad's underground. She was still wearing her golden cloak, so he didn't know what type of armor she was wearing. He did see the shine of her claws.

"Me, I'm just enjoying the sights." he said.

"With that face? You'll probably scare off all of the children waiting for Santa. Are you...doing alright?" she asked.

"Hell no, every day is a struggle. I'm still not over Sasha, I miss her every day. It doesn't help that it's only been two weeks. I promised to get her outta here Argo, and I failed...it should have been me not her." he said.

"Now don't say that. Think about her for a second, do you actually think she wants you to die? She's most likely praying that you make it out of here. Wanting to die, it isn't going to solve anything. The one responsible is Kayaba after all." she said firmly.

"Yeah but...how can I just move on? I love her." he said, glaring at the auburn haired girl. She took a deep breath, leaning against the bench.

"You just do...I haven't been in love before...but if I was, I would want my partner to go on. I wouldn't want to be the cause of his or her demise. We've all lost someone Akira, but we moved on."

"You're right Argo. It's just so fucking hard, I thought she was the one. I made her a promise, and now her dick head cousin won't stop pissing me off." he said, crossing his arms.

"Well, you could beat him in a duel, teach him not to mess with you." Argo suggested.

"Absolutely not. Remember what happened last time?"

"Okay, last time was an accident, this time it will be on purpose. That guy is seriously messing up my Information Gathering. He figured out how to mess with the Listening and Hiding Skills, making my job that much harder." she said.

"So you want me to assassinate him? I'm sorry but I don't do that."

"We don't have to assassinate him, all we gotta do is send him to jail. I got some information about him, he's apparently extorting people and taking their money. I don't know about you, but extortion is a crime, sadly one that isn't recognized by the system." she said.

"Hmm...if we can somehow get him out in public, the KoB would have to do something about it, but how would we do that?" he muttered.

"I'll get back to you on that. However we will have to most likely use you as bait, he blames you for his cousins death. Has he taken money from you before?" she asked.

"Three Million Col, thankfully I was able to replace all of that money easily, but it still a pain in the ass to farm in this game." he said, a tone of annoyance in his voice.

"Tell me about it...anyway I need to head off. Try not to do anything stupid alright, and if you got information to share, you know how to get a hold of me." she said, tugging on her hood.

"Hey wait...do you have information on a guild named Laughing Coffin?" he asked, causing the girl to stop.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"So you know about them?" he asked, causing her to turn around. She looked around for a few seconds, before fully facing him.

"Yes, I know about them. They are the lowest of the low, and have remained inactive for awhile, but now that the fiftieth floor was beaten, I think they're going public. They're a guild of player killers. One of the leaders has killed at least one hundred people, on his own. You don't want to get involved with them." she said firmly.

"A PK guild...but that means...that one guy...he's gonna kill his wife with their help!" he cried.

"Who? Do you have the name? Maybe we can get help from the DDA and the KoB!" Argo said.

"No, I didn't get any information on any of them. All I know is that one guy his going to kill his wife because she's getting a rare item appraised. They mentioned Agil, so I'm assuming she's going there." he said.

"Shit, without that information there's nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to warn Agil, that way he can let that woman know she's getting offed." Argo said, opening her message box.

"I feel so useless. I maxed out these skills and they haven't even served me any purpose. Now, another person is going to die because I can't do shit!" he said.

"Now now, you gave me enough information so it isn't a baseless rumor. The KoB and Agil will get all of this and they'll be able to open an investigation. I know that's not reassuring but...it's something." she said.

"I guess...I'll let you go...I'm sure you got stuff to do. Don't worry I won't be doing anything stupid, and thanks for the extra information." he said.

"Bye Akira, stay outta trouble." she replied, giving him a wave. He disappeared into the crowd, quickly disappearing from her line of sight.

Akira shut the door to the inn he had been renting. He walked over to his bed, taking a seat on it. He had to admit, the rooms on the 49th Floor were some of the fanciest he had been in. Compared to the rooms on the 1st Floor, he could envision the one he was in as a mansion.

He sighed, laying back down on his bed. He wasn't going anywhere, most likely for awhile. The sole fact that he knew someone was going to get murdered had really shaken him up. Honestly, today was the most emotion he had shown in two weeks. He glanced at the ceiling, closing his eyes.

"Maybe Argo is right...I should just move on. I'm sure Sasha would want me to keep going. But it's so damn hard too...I can't just forget everything we did together." he muttered sadly.

He remembered the first time he had taken her to Floria on the 47th Floor. He used the excuse of wanting to see the flowers, but had already found out about the special event that took place there. If a married couple walked into a certain flower patch, it would trigger a horde of glowing butterflies that would surround the two lovers. Butterflies were seen as a sign of life and prosperity, and blue butterflies were simply beautiful. Sasha had fallen even more in love with him, they had been happy. But then the 50th Floor boss ended it all. He grit his teeth, slamming his fist against the bed frame, a violet "Immortal Object" Icon appeared above it.

"Damn it Kayaba, you son of a bitch! Where the hell are you hiding? I know you're watching all of us you fuck! Come on, face me like a man!" he shouted in anger. He heard a loud beep, his eyes drifting to his message icon. It was blinking, but instead of it being orange, it was blinking blue. He had never seen anything like that before. He sat up, his hand reaching for the icon.

"Heh, this is probably a glitch. The SAO servers weren't designed to hold Ten Thousand of us for this long period of time. Won't be long until all of us die here." he muttered dryly.

He was tempted to just delete the message, but he also got mildly curious. A blue blinking message icon was enough to draw anyone's attention. He sighed and tapped the icon, he had nothing to lose.

The message opened up, the words staring at him. They were written in a bright blue font, something that he had never seen before.

" _Hero from the realm of light...you have been wronged by those around you. Trapped in a world of someone elses making, and face death on a daily basis. Those who want the power to right was is wrong shall indeed receive the blessing of the Saint. Embark on a Grand Quest to discover the hidden mystery of the Temple of Algade."_

He just stared at the message, unblinking. Did he just receive a message inviting him to go on a Grand Quest? Did SAO even have Grand Quests? He was just beyond confused. He reread the message, finally noticing the button options at the bottom.

"Accept Quest Yes/No?" he muttered.

He looked at the box, thinking it over. He didn't have anything to lose, and it was a Grand Quest. However, he didn't know exactly who else had gotten the request. If he was to assume a few others who were on par with his level got the same message, then that meant they would be taking it as well. A Grand Quest in any other game usually meant he would get several things out of it. New armor, new weapons and most of all, a massive amount of experience. If he could solo it, then it would be a boon for him. He nodded to himself, hitting accept. A loud jingle echoed through the room, his entire body glowing blue. He looked at the back of his hand, seeing a glowing mark on it.

"What is this?" he muttered.

The mark looked sort of familiar, almost like a flower. Currently the only thing he could discern from it was the stem, along with what looked like a flower pod. If he were to haphazard a guess, he had until the flower bloomed to complete the quest. Another window popped up, forcing him to look away from his hand.

"An Event List, so this truly is a Grand Quest, what does it say here?" he muttered to himself.

" _The Algade Temple isn't accessible to just anyone. If you truly are the hero of light, then you must bring the sacred key to a woman named Gentiana on the outskirts of Laguna."_

"Sacred key...no..it can't be." he muttered, quickly opening his menu. He went to his inventory and looked through his items. The golden key he had found in Panereze had only been labeled as Mysterious Key. However, when he looked at it again, he saw it was named, The Sacred Key of the Temple. He materialized it, staring at the golden trinket.

"Who would have thought, this key was actually an event item. And I was going to sell you to Argo. But now, I'll be able to get all of these sweet bonuses and items. Then I'll grow immensely strong, and when I do, I'll make it to the 100th Floor and take down the final boss." he said, clasping his hand on the key.

"Tomorrow, I'll get started on this quest." he said, a grin on his face.

Xxx

"A Grand Quest? SAO had one of those?" Rain asked curiously.

"Indeed it did. I wasn't sure if anyone else had the message, but I guess I got it by chance. I didn't think that key held any value, but I knew keeping it was a great idea." he admitted. He glanced around, a frown on his face. They still hadn't found Udyr. He was beginning to wonder if this quest was even worth it.

"You know, now that you mention it, I don't remember there ever being anything of interest in the game. Sure there were some special event bosses, but if there was a Grand Quest, don't you think they would have announced it?" Rain asked curiously.

"Maybe, or Kayaba just wanted certain people to get a crack at it. After all, Kirito got Dual Blades because he had the fastest reaction time in the game. For me, this Grand Quest was a way to get what made me unique."

"Wait...oh I get it, this is about that Unique Skill you had, like the one Heathcliff had." she said, face lighting up a bit.

"Yup, this is exactly how I unlocked that skill. But I would rather you know the whole story behind it."

"Yeah, especially since this is something I don't know about." she said, giving him a smile. Akira flushed a bit, glancing away from her.

" _The hell is coming over me? Every time she smiles, my heart starts racing, and my face feels hot. Maybe the game is getting buggy."_ He thought to himself.

"Uh um...I'll just...skip ahead a bit." he said.

"Sure, I don't mind." she said.

"Well, the day after the 49th Floor was assaulted by a snow storm, so I got stuck at the inn for a bit. Though thankfully I had food items in my storage. That was something that really pissed me off, a freaking snow storm in a game, as if I didn't deal with enough of that shit in the real world." he said, earning a giggle from the redheaded girl.

Xxx

 _(December 17_ _th_ _2023: Location: Laguna Floor 40: 10:03AM)_

Laguna was one of the prettiest places in Aincrad. Being the main settlement of the 40th Floor, it boasted large crystal clear lakes, much like the 22nd Floor. Only the ones in Laguna had large islands in the center, all of them being settlements. The entire floor was actually one large lake, with small islands dotting the entirety of the floor, connected with wooden bridges. Farther along was an entire field of large trees, which had also been claimed to make large spacious treehouses. Further along the Southern Edge of the main settlement, was a river that would lead you down to a forest. The dungeon was filled with critters of all shapes and sizes, along with some other dungeons and labyrinth like paths. Safely navigating them was a challenge in and of itself. But the clearing team was able to manage. The labyrinth was at the end of one of these paths, and filled to the brim with elven enemies and some plant type monsters. Akira didn't remember much of the boss, only that it a large Tree like creature, reminiscent of the 4th Floor boss.

Due to it being winter, parts of the lake had frozen over, so large chunks of ice could be seen floating everywhere. Thankfully all of the bridges were raised over the water, so the threat of actually falling in was eliminated. Though he had heard of people getting hypothermia in the game, something that came from exploring the snow covered mountains on the 48th Floor.

Akira took a deep breath, the icy air filling his lungs. Most people were too busy tackling the lower floors to be seen wondering around. He did spot a few players among the NPCs, and gave them a wayward hello. News of his guild disbanding had filled all of Aincrad, so the intermediate players had lost a very powerful resource, though he did hear his teammates were still doing their work, even without him. He briefly paused, wondering if he should message any of them.

He shook his head, and continued his walk through the snow covered city. He kept his eyes peeled, searching for the Quest NPC. He had no idea what that Gentiana woman even looked like. As he looked around on the main island, he tried looking for something out of place. When he turned the corner, he saw a bright blue glow and looked at his hand.

"The mark...is glowing?" he muttered.

Holding his hand up, he noticed the flower stem had grown a single petal. He noticed there was a bit of an ice trail in the air, leading to what looked like a pub. He looked around, at some of the other players but they didn't notice a thing. He figured since he had the mark, he was the only one who could see it. Quickly hiding his hand, he walked forward heading toward the bar.

"This is insane. I'm following an ice trail, that only I can see to a bar that I've never set foot in. For all I know, this grand quest could have been designed to kill me. Then again, Kayaba wouldn't get his just desserts if his quest failed. What's your angle big man, I really wanna know."

He walked into the bar, seeing that it was filled with who he assumed were regulars. A quick scan of the patrons revealed no player cursors. He looked up, seeing a young woman at the bar. She looked a few years older, perhaps in her early twenties or so. He closed the door and made his way toward the bar, glancing around at all of the men and women hanging around the pub, talking amiably among friends. He glanced around, taking a seat at one of the empty stools. The young woman looked up, giving him a forced smile.

"Welcome traveler, is there anything I could get you?" she asked.

"Yes, I want to know where I can find a woman called Gentiana." he said.

"Why do you want to find her?" the woman asked, giving him a curious look. He dug a hand into his pocket, retrieving the key, which he placed on the bar.

"I have reason to believe she knows what door this opens." he said. She took a hold of his hand, eyes widening a bit.

"You've got the mark. The Sacred Hero." she said. A few of the patrons looked at her, and she gave them a smile. She grabbed the key, gesturing for him to follow. Once they were in the back room, she closed the door behind them.

"I am Gentiana." she said.

"Ah, by that reaction just now, my suspicions had been confirmed. But what's this about the mark?" he asked, gesturing to his hand.

"Oh right, the mark of the Sacred Hero...I'll explain a bit more, once you tell me your name, traveler." she said.

"I'm Akira, just you're average swordsmen, working to reach the Ruby Palace." he said.

"The Ruby Palace? Heh, as if you have what it takes to take down the tyrant leading Aincrad. 100 floors of absolute hell, that's what this castle is." the woman replied.

"You know Aincrad is a floating castle? You must be some weird NPC." He said, earning a chuckle from the woman.

"NPC, I don't know what those are. But you have come here seeking me, I indeed know where this key goes. It was mine, but on a trip to the lake in Panereze, I ended up dropping it. Thank you so much for bringing it back." she said.

"It wasn't an issue..but what's this about the hero?" he asked.

"The Legend, you mean you've been marked and you don't know about it?" she asked, earning a nod from the boy. She sighed, glancing at the wall.

"I cannot believe this. You've been marked as the Sacred Hero and you don't know what that means?" she asked.

"I don't, can you please explain it?" Akira asked, a bit annoyed at all of the dodge balling the woman was doing.

"Sure, but not here. There are people who would do bad things with this information. Meet me in the plaza in the city of Nautilus and bring the key with you. I'll be there in an hour." she said, handing him the key.

"Um...alright then." he said.

Akira frowned as he left the pub, with less information then he wanted. He had at least found the woman he was looking for, so he was sure she had the information he needed. He continued on heading toward the teleport gate, stepping onto it.

"Wonder how this will turn out. Teleport: Nautilus." he cried out, and in a flash he was gone.

For an hour, Akira waited. Nautilus had been a rather popular place in Aincrad. It was the casino floor of the city, having some carnival-esque attractions. It wasn't futuristic, but it was exactly medieval either. He hadn't really explored the town as much as his friends had, he just hadn't been interested. Then again, Sasha had taken him to the house of mirrors, where they ended up making out for a long time. It wasn't until some intermediate players came around that they actually left, an embarrassed look on their faces. That was something Nick held on them for awhile. He sighed, a frown on his face.

"Well, you look rather sad."

He glanced up, eyes falling on the black haired woman he had met an hour ago. He had to admit, for an NPC, she looked really good. Her long black hair was neatly trimmed, extending down to her waist. She was wearing a black shirt, with a golden trim on it. She was also wearing an iron chest plate over it. Around her waist she wore a matching black armored skirt, with frills hanging from it. She was wearing black tights, along with a pair of black armored boots. She also had a sword attached to her hip.

"Huh, sorry. I...lost my wife not that long ago." he admitted. He inwardly chuckled. Spilling his feelings to an NPC, what a fool.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You aren't the only one who lost someone, I ended up loosing my husband not long ago. So it seems we have something aside from that key in common. You did bring it correct?"

"Yeah, I got it." he said, pulling the key out of his inventory. The woman nodded, gesturing for him to follow.

"The mark you have on your skin, it's the mark of the Sacred Hero. Legend has it, that there was a man who was able to quell the heart of a beast, saving a princess from doom. However, a harbinger of chaos corrupted that woman, turning her heart into ice. The Hero had no choice but to kill her."

"Oh...that's a shame." Akira said, not exactly knowing how to respond.

"Indeed...this woman...when she was dying she had been cared by the hero. The same man that took her life, it was only then that her heart finally thawed. With the last remainder of her life, she wished for them to meet again. And they did, every four thousand years, the two of them are reborn. However, the curse is still within the woman's heart, so she gets reborn as a Saint of Ice. The key opens the doors to a sacred battle ground."

"A battleground, to quell the raging princess?" he asked.

"Indeed...the Hero rises, not only to quell the princess, but to thaw out her heart. If her heart isn't thawed out, then she will freeze everyone to death. She is a caring woman, and loves humans just as much as the hero loves her, but the ice in her heart corrupts her. You have been chosen to thaw her heart out." Gentiana said, earning a curious look from Akira.

"So, I have to thaw out her heart? That seems simple enough. We have the key to the sacred coliseum, I'm assuming it's near Algade right?" he asked.

"Actually, that key won't open the door to the temple." Gentiana said firmly.

"Huh, but you said..."

"Yes, but this is only one key. We need to find three more of them to open the door. Sadly those keys have been scattered all over the place. Thankfully as the Hero, you'll be able to find the keys with your sacred mark. When the final petal appears on the flower, the Princess will appear in the coliseum, and it'll be time for your battle." she said firmly.

"Goddamn you Kayaba, and your goddamn fetch quests." he muttered under his breath.

"If you don't mind Akira, I think my expertise will be useful in this mission. You can't do this alone after all." Gentiana said, looking a bit sheepish. He saw a pop up window and glanced down at it, seeing the familiar glowing letters.

" _Gentiana wishes to join your party, Accept/Decline?"_

Akira shrugged and hit accept, seeing the new HP bar under his own. He glanced at the black haired woman, seeing the HP bar around her, a glowing green cursor above her head. He gave her a nod, glancing away from her.

"So, where would we find the second key?" he asked.

"I have some friends in Candle Cove that might now where one of them is. He was the one who appraised my key, so if he has more information it it, we'll be able to find them easily."

"Floor 46 huh, alright let's get going. The faster we find these keys, the better." he said, leading the woman toward the teleport gate, unknowingly being followed by another player.

Xxx

"I think I'm going to end the story here...look that NPC has an exclamation mark above their head." Akira said, pointing to a man that looked like a shop owner. Rain huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Aw come on, we were getting to the good part." she said. He took a hold of her hand, giving her a grin.

"Forget the story for now, there's always time for that you know. Come on." he said, pulling her along. Rain blushed bright red as she was pulled along, not exactly knowing what to do.

They stopped in front of the man, who was placing a sandwich board in front of his store. He glanced up at them, a warm smile on his face.  
"Hey kids, may I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, we're looking for a man named Udyr...have you seen or heard of him?" Akira asked.

"Ah, that young lad. He came by here a few weeks ago, rumor had it, he was trying to get to Valhalla." the man said.

"That's true. Do you know where he went perhaps?" Rain asked.

"Hmm...he mentioned something about facing a champion in battle. If I were to guess, he went to the big coliseum in Midgard to face Odin's Champion. Only then could he truly reach Asgard." the man replied.

"Thank you so much sir, we appreciate your help." Akira said, giving him a polite bow. He and Rain left shortly after, heading back toward the main square.

"So, we got a solid lead, this Udyr guy headed to Aincrad. I remember reading somewhere that Midgard was the human realm, and since humans used to inhabit Aincrad in SAO, it makes sense for him to go there." he said.

"Yes, but I don't remember seeing a large Coliseum in Aincrad, no wait...there is one. The one that Kirito and Heathcliff used for their duel." Rain said.

"Huh...if that's true then...no, that's on the 75th Floor. You mean to tell me we have to wait until all of those floors are cleared to continue this quest?" he exclaimed.

"Damn, I didn't even think about this. Just when we were getting close, I wanted you to beat this Hayato dick head." Rain said. Akira sighed, glancing at the ground.

"I'm so useless. I can't believe we all took a quest we can't even complete yet!"

"Stop it, it's an honest mistake. That doesn't make you useless, you aren't...not to me at least." Rain said, brushing some of his hair away from his eyes. They blushed and looked away, even though they were still holding hands.

"M-maybe we should go find the others." Rain suggested, earning a nod from Akira.

"Yeah, Sakuya has been playing this game longer than us. Maybe there's something we missed." he said.

"I'm afraid not...that man said Udyr went to Midgard, Colonia is the only place with a Coliseum. A big one anyway." she said.

"Damn Quests, the Cardinal System isn't going easy on us is it?" he asked.

"Nope, not at all." she said.

"Well, if it turns out we can't get that sword...there's only one other way we can beat Hayato..that's the old fashioned way. Power leveling! Maybe we can use your surgery to our advantage, you'll be diving for three days straight, so that'll give you an advantage. If the clearers open up the second floor, you can level up easily on the Oxen that inhabit the fields." Rain said.

"That would be a good idea, if Hayato didn't have Admin access." he said.

"Hmm...wait a minute...you said you used to work for Yvir right? Doesn't that grant you the same access he has? Can't you just use that against him?" she asked.

"No, that wouldn't be fair. Besides I gave up my GM privileges when I sold my shares remember? I want to beat him fair and square, with my own power." he said firmly.

"Well...there's one last thing I got that will work...it's my special skill." she said, opening her menu. With a few taps, she manifested a window, which she flicked over to him. His eyes fell on it, widening a bit.

"An Original Sword Skill? Thousand Sword Rain?" he asked.

"It's a sword skill that makes use of my Leprechaun magic. I can summon every single sword in my inventory in one shot and use it as a powered up magic attack." she said.

"But only Dual Wielders can use this skill. I mean, I can dual wield too but I haven't gotten that good." he said.

"Which is why I will train you. I may not have mastered Dual Wielding in SAO, but I assure you it's my most used skill set. The Original Sword Skills are something created outside of the system assist, remember that. You can mold them to do what you want, and this skill is the same." she said.

"Alright, I'll let you teach me Rain...if I win this fight with Hayato...I'll owe you one." he said.

"You'll...owe me one?" she asked, a blush on her cheeks. She shook her head, adopting a firm look.

"Fine then, let's talk to the others so we can get to work!"

"You got it teach!" he said happily.

"Let's find the others, but I want to hear more about this grand quest alright?"

"Yeah yeah, you wanna know something Nijika, you are really pushy about hearing this story. Perhaps you're part of it in some way."

"Huh...me? Pssh no, that would be impossible."

"Hmm...right...let's go, before those three tear each other apart looking for us."


	15. Aincrad Arc: Second Key

**A/N: Now is the time, now is the hour, to take back my heart, to take back my power, this is the moment to break your spell, I see right through you now burn in hell!**

 **Hello peoples, and welcome to chapter 15 of The Violet Assassin!**

 **In the last chapter, Akira was dealing with the death of Sasha, his in game wife and first true love. Over the course of this story, there will be times where he reflects on this relationship and even feels a bit useless for letting her die. But he learns to move on and live for those he lost by beating the game. He also accepted the mysterious Grand Quest sent to him by the system. Why did he get this mysterious quest? is he the only one or are there others? And what makes him special enough to receive it? All this and more will be explained in this story arc.**

 **I hope you all don't get mad at me for some of the choices I made when creating this story...you'll understand what I mean when you get to those parts.**

 **In other news, for those of you who have read Pokemon XY Legends of Kalos, I will be updating chapters 3-9 as they have all been re-edited with new stuff. So I do hope you enjoy that, I will be putting out a new message stating these updates, more on that as it develops.**

 **I have also decided to take a break from this story, but will continue posting what I have. It will only be a minor break while I edit The Legends of Kalos, I will continue to finish the Aincrad Arc of the story before doing Fairy Dance. Of course it will be from Akira's point of view, and he might help Kirito or deal with everything himself. I haven't decided yet.**

 **So...I hope you all like this story...Peace!**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 15

The Second Key

"So you mean to tell me, after all of that searching all we get is the hint of a coliseum. One that we can't reach until we're three quarters of the way into Aincrad?" Sapphira asked, clarifying what she had heard. Akira and Rain nodded, earning a groan from her.

"There's something I don't understand. I doubt they would release a Quest and have us wait this long to get it. This isn't an all powerful sword, I'm sure Excalibur could beat it in raw strength." Sakuya added, a finger on her chin.

"Man, all I know is that we just spent time on this quest we could have used to beat Illfang. Now my name won't be on the Monument of Swordsmen!" Alicia cried, hugging Alduin closer to her. Akira shook his head, chuckling a bit.

"How about this, when Asterius's boss room is found, we'll party up and kick its ass. You'll get your name for sure...besides I know where everything on the second floor is located, including the Martial Arts skill." he said, giving the Cait Sith leader a wink. She huffed, but gave him a nod.

"I'll hold you to that mister...or I'll use my army to hunt you down to the ends of Alfheim!" she cried out.

"No need to do that Alicia, it's a promise." Akira said, giving her a wink. She blushed a bit, glancing away from him. Rain huffed, standing up from her seat.

"Well, shouldn't we get going?" she asked.

"Right now? I wanted to rest a bit, it's not every day I get to hang out with Sakuya and Alicia after all." he said.

"Yeah, let us chill for a bit. What's the rush anyway?" Sapphira asked curiously.

"Um...I promised Akira I would teach him my Original Sword Skill. Since we can't get the sword, we were planning on abusing the system to pull a win. Sword skills were recently introduced into the game, so it's been a bit challenging to get used to them again." she said.

"Not for me...I managed to keep all of my One Handed Sword skills unlocked when I transferred." Sapphira said.

"That's not fair...where's the fun in clearing Aincrad if you kept all of your previous progress?" Akira asked.

"Says the level fifteen millionaire. You kept all of the money on your account, so I can definitely keep my goddamn skills. I wanted to say something else, I'm planning on restarting our guild." she said.

"Oh are you? Did you get in touch with the others and let them know?" he asked curiously.

"I spoke with Nick earlier. He wasn't able to log in but we can still message each other in game. He says he's coming to Japan for the summer to, and I quote, bang on the hot ladies in ALO's Japanese Server'. He thinks he can score cuz he's a foreigner." she said.

"Pfft, as if. He's never going to get laid, especially here of all places." Akira said.

"Hmm, I don't know...like I said before he does look good in a Speedo." Sakuya said.

"Jeez, have you no class woman? That's just gross!" Rain cried.

"You're right, my only love is Akira, too bad he's too young for me. Then again, the younger they are the stronger they are under the sheets!"

"Christ, I think now would be a good time to go Rain. I get enough teasing back in the real world. Sides I promised my sister I would party with her for a bit." he said.

"Alright, we can all train on the First Floor fields. Did she send you a message or something?" Rain asked, her black wings appearing on her back.

"Not yet, but I sent one to my mom letting her know we would be heading back to Aincrad soon." he replied, his own purple bat wings appearing on his back.

"I think I'll stick around here, get a bit more information on that quest. If I get something I'll message you." Sapphira added.

"We will message you as well, we took this quest together after all." Sakuya replied, earning a nod from Alicia. The two nodded, shooting off into the sky.

"Those two are so fucking in love. I can't believe they're so blind about it." Alicia suddenly said, causing the other two to glance at her.

"How'd you come up with that assumption?" Sapphira asked curiously.

"They were holding hands. I had Alduin follow them around, he's told me a lot of stuff...they look cute together. But we'd look better together, way better."

"Please Alicia, don't flatter yourself. Everyone knows Akira is mine and mine alone." Sakuya said.

"Not even you believe that shit Sakuya. Wanna go handle some monster quests?" Sapphira asked.

"I thought you wanted to find some information on this quest we all took?" Alicia said.

"I do, but I wanna level up too. Besides, I don't know when I'll be able to log in like this. I'm still busy at work and I got some college stuff to handle." she said.

"Okay, let's head to the pub then." the Sylph leader said, standing up from the table.

"Ah, nothing beats the feeling of flying. I'm so glad this game was created." Akira said, stretching his arms a bit. He still hadn't gotten used to flying. It was so surreal, even though it was a game, he was able to experience something men had been dreaming of for thousands of years.

"Mhmm...even though SAO's programming is at the root of it, I'm glad it exists." Rain added.

The two of them landed on the edge of the bottom floor of Aincrad, jumping into the Town of Beginnings. Their wings flashed out of existence, allowing the two to walk freely. The two teens remained silent on their walk to the field, not really knowing what to talk about. Glancing at his clock, Akira saw that it was just past four in the afternoon. He glanced at his companion, a curious look on his face.

"Hey Nijika, when is it that you have to go home?" he asked.

"My mom didn't give me a specific time. She was just happy I was hanging out with friends...all of my friends sort of...you know." she replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you played SAO alone."

"I did, but I did meet some people. Some were from my school even...but they all perished during the first few months of SAO. I never really got over it. So I promised myself I would get stronger for them." she said.

"Mhmm, so that means you did leave the First Floor." Akira said, crossing his arms. He had a smirk on his face. She sighed, giving him a nod.

"I'm sorry Akira, I didn't mean to lie and I don't mean to..it's just...I don't feel comfortable sharing my past in this game. I know you are, and eventually I will tell you everything. Give me some time, okay?" she asked.

"That's fine I suppose. So what's the real reason you got into ALO, or SAO in the first place? Did the allure of being in a different world attract you?"

"Honestly, that was only part of it. I just wanted to play the game for the fun of it. I'm a pretty big nerd, and MMO's were my forte. I managed to score copies of old games, even though the servers were shut down ages ago. I still have my dad's copy of Final Fantasy XI with all of the original booklets." she said.

"You lucky bitch! I've been hunting that game down for eons, but every time I find it, it's either missing the case or the booklet. I never find a complete copy." he said.

"Hehe, I'm just lucky. I still play some other games, like Left4Dead2. I still can't believe that game has such a dedicated community. I wonder if Valve will make Left4Dead3 using FullDive technology?"

"If someone from Valve is here, please follow this girl's advice, Left4Dead3 for the AmuSphere, do it!" he cried out, attracting the attention of players and NPCs alike.

"Stop it! I don't want people to look at me funny!" she cried, making him laugh.

"Come on Nijika! Embrace your inner nerd! We're inside a game for Christ sakes! We can do so much stuff in here! This is the greatest time to be alive, people may see SAO as the worst thing in history, but honestly it was the best thing to ever happen to me!" he said. A few people started muttering things, while others just glared at him angrily.

"I get that but...maybe we should go. Some people are glaring at you." Rain said, taking a hold of his hand. He frowned, following the girl's lead.

Once in the field outside of the Town, the two friends started slaying the local mob. Once they were gone, Rain turned to face Akira, hands at her hips.

"Alright then, the first thing we need to do is start getting you used to dual wielding. Equip your swords."

"Um...I only have one, the one you gave me. Hayato took my other stuff last night." he admitted. Rain frowned, though she blushed a bit at the fact that he had kept her sword above the others he had.

"I don't have any extra ones...maybe we can hunt one down?" she asked.

"Hmm...I guess we can try to get an Anneal Blade. All we have to do is kill all of those flower monsters to bring the medicine to the little girl." Akira said.

"I think someone did that one already. It takes a day or two for it to respawn." Rain said.

"Tits...it's like something is stopping me from leveling up." he said, crossing his arms. His ears perked up, as he heard the sound of fluttering wings, along with a quiet giggle. He turned around, eyes brightening up a bit at the familiar face.

"Yui, what are you doing here?" he asked, holding his hand out. The navigation Pixie landed on his hand, a grin on her face.

"Hiya uncle, I just wanted to say hi. Mommy and Daddy are training over there, so they said it would be okay." she said.

"Hi Yui, it's been awhile." Rain said, earning a nod from the pixie.

"Yes it has Rain, I didn't know you two knew each other."

"Yeah, it's a bit of a long story. Say, I need some help, do you know where I can get a one handed sword? I uh...broke my last one." he said. The little pixie nodded, adopting a pensive look.

"Um...if I remember correctly, there's a quest near the labyrinth that will get you an Anneal Blade."

"Yes, but that one was taken. Can you think of anything else? I don't really want to waste money on the cheap ones back in town." he said.

"What do you need a sword for anyway?" another voice added.

It belonged to the Black Swordsmen of course, and the Hero of Sword Art Online, responsible for clearing the game. He was a Spriggan in this game, liking all of the dark colors. In his hand was an Anneal Blade, something that made Akira chuckle.

"So, it was you who took it then. Guess that's the second one that I lost." he admitted.

"I suppose so. Hello Rain, you and Akira know each other?" Kirito asked. Yui flew over to her father figure, landing inside his pocket. Rain rubbed her neck, glancing away from her fellow dual wielder.

"Yes, we met yesterday in town. He's been telling me about his time in SAO." she replied.

"Oh, that's a surprise. Akira here is pretty tight lipped about what happened in Aincrad." he said.

"Pfft, as if I wouldn't be. You still haven't told me where you got that Angel Ring you were gonna give Silica."

"That's because she made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone." he admitted.

"It's fine...anyway, if you must know...I'm in need of a sword because Rain here wants to teach me her Original Sword Skill." he said.

"Wait, can you even dual wield? I thought it wasn't possible for your race."

"No, I can do it just fine. We actually got some ore not long ago, and I cleared the path with two swords." he said proudly. Kirito nodded, opening his menu.

"Well, I got a spare sword I'm not using. It was the one I had before I got this Anneal Blade. Mind telling me why she's teaching this skill to you in the first place?" he asked.

"Oh uh...you know...Original Sword Skills can only be passed to one other person. I think Akira is the best candidate, besides he's been telling me about his story. He's been...rather depressed lately, and he needed someone to talk too." Rain admitted.

"I wasn't depressed...I was just..you know..thinking of Sasha, and some other stuff." he admitted.

"Uncle Akira, you could talk to me. After all it's my duty to keep players emotions in check." Yui said firmly, earning a nod from Kirito.

"Right, Yui is still a Mental Health Program, so if anyone is suited to hear you out, it's her. Me and Asuna are about to log, if you'd like I can leave her with you."

"Sure, it's been awhile since I spent time with my favorite niece!" he said.

"Yay, I'll be the best Navigator you'll ever have uncle!" Yui cried, flying out of Kirito's pocket. A menu popped up in front of Akira, which he quickly opened. In a flash, a one handed sword fell into his hand.

"Whoa, it's heavy. I like it." he said, glossing over the blade.

It was a nice one handed long sword, about 43 inches or so in length. It was a light orange color, and with a razor edge. It had an angled cross hilt, with light colored rubies on it. The handle itself was wrapped in a black leather strap, the pommel was rounded off, with a gem in the center.

"Amber Blade, it has a fire element attached to it. Practicing some fire skills?" he asked curiously.

"Of course, you know Sword Skills change properties and gain new magical attributes depending on what sword you use. I'm going to enhance my new Anneal Blade with some fire ore so I can have another blade like it. I surely thought you would have gone for some Ice ore, seeing as how that was your element way back when."

"Yeah, Ice is my element after all...I would have chosen the Undine race but...I don't like playing support. Besides I can still learn Ice magic. Anyway, thanks Kirito, I'll definitely pay you back for this."

"No worries, I feel you're cooking up something big if you want to learn an OSS. Just promise me you won't get yourself in trouble, and that if you need help you'll call me, Klein or Asuna?"

"Sure thing man, catch you later! And don't worry, I'll make sure Yui goes to bed and everything!"

"Uncle, I'll go to bed when you log out, remember?" the pixie cried, earning a laugh from him.

"I remember. Shall we get started with this skill then Rain?" Akira asked.

"Yes but...don't you want to speak with Yui first? I need to get my swords ready, actually I'll do some maintenance on them real quick. I have my sharpening stone with me." she said, pulling it out of her inventory. Akira shrugged, handing her both of his swords.

"If you want. Come on Yui, let's go to that tree over there." Akira said, walking over to the large oak tree not far from them.

"Hey wait up, if you're gonna continue your story I want to listen to it!" Rain cried, trudging behind the two with the weapons in hand. Once at the base of the tree, Akira sat down patting the spot next to him. Yui glowed briefly, returning to her human form. She knelt beside Akira, a firm look on her face.

"Okay Uncle, let's hear what you have to say." she said.

"Hmm, okay...I guess I will continue my story. It's about the Grand Quest in SAO, you remember it right?"

"Of course, as an Artificial Intelligence, I was able to see everything that happened in SAO, including this quest."

"Well, some of the stuff that happened during this quest affects me even now, especially with that Hayato bastard. Whoops, don't repeat that word okay? I'm sure Asuna would kill me if you started swearing."

"Okay, I won't say it at all. Go ahead when you're ready." the little girl said. He nodded, giving her a smile.

"Alrighty then! This is the part where I started hunting those keys down, and let me tell you what a pain in the neck that was. Honestly, Kayaba really pissed me off when it came to this stuff." he said, earning an eye roll from the girl.

xxx

 _(December 18_ _th_ _2023: Location: Candle Cove Floor 46 11:09AM)_

If there was a person who loved creepy ghost towns, then Candle Cove was definitely for them. Unlike the abandoned town of Ralberg on the 19th Floor, Candle Cove was situated on an enclosed island, with large rocky outcrops rising high above them, the bottom of the 47th Floor barely visible. It was mostly dark within the city, and it was covered in a thin mist. If Akira had to describe the place, he would compare it to Port Royal from the Pirates of the Caribbean Saga. It was an ocean side city, with a very creepy vibe to it.

The NPCs looked none worse for wear, though half of them looked like beggars and homeless people. Those who resided in dwellings barely came out, unless they needed something. The stores in the market place had firm iron doors and barred windows, making it obvious that burglary was something common. Hens and Pigs ran rampant throughout the city, and the entire area was just a muddy mess. But still, Akira and his companion trudged on. The NPCs that looked at them with glares turned away when Gentiana made eye contact.

Most of the men were filled with rage aimed at Akira for being associated with a beauty like her. And the women were jealous at Gentiana for her looks and her nice clothing, but the two paid them no mind, as they continued onward.  
Akira however had his hand on his dagger, ready to draw it if he needed it. Gentiana reassured him that no one would attack, but his paranoia was through the roof. She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a calming smile. That was seemingly enough for him to let go of his weapon. It wasn't long before they arrived at a rickety building, with a sign outside of it that read "Shop" in bold black lettering. She gripped the handle, stepping inside.

Inside the store were various items, bubbling potions, which Akira doubted were used for healing, various weapons and even some armor pieces. Of course it all paled in comparison to player made stuff, but he guessed for the average adventurer it was enough. Gentiana calmly strode to the counter, knocking on the wood a few times.

"Hold yer horses, I'm coming." a voice called out.

From the other room walked out a man, who looked like he hasn't seen Aloe Vera in fifty years. He was wearing a round hat on his head, with a long purple feather sticking out of it. He wore a Navy Officers coat over his dark shirt and leather armor. He was wearing a pair of worn looking pants and black buckle boots. He had a white scraggly beard, at his waist was a worn looking cutlass. He was holding a green apple in his hands, most likely planning to eat it.

"Gentiana? Well ain't this a surprise?" the man asked.

"Indeed it is. I've brought a friend, Akira this is Hector, the man who appraised my key." she said.

"Hector? As in Hector Barbossa?" Akira asked, brow raised in curiosity.

"Nah kiddo, I ain't called Barbossa, it's just Hector." the man said.

"Hmm...have you ever found any treasures? Like say, a chest filled with 882 Cursed Pieces of Aztec Gold?"

"Yer just confusing me lad, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" the man asked, glancing at the young woman, a hungry look in his eye. Akira pursed his lips, not exactly liking that look. Gentiana either didn't care or just didn't notice it.

"We need information on the remaining keys, you appraised this one not long ago. Have you found out where the others are?" she asked, placing the key on the counter. The man looked at it, humming to himself.

"Still want to go to that temple eh?" he asked.

"Of course I do. That woman is there doing who knows what, she needs to be stopped." Gentiana said firmly.

"Aye, t'were a regular woman, it would be easy. But this be Calypso we be talking about. She won't be an easy opponent." Hector said.

"Uh, who's Calypso?" Akira asked curiously. The man smirked, taking a bite from his green apple.

"Calypso, the woman who's a spirit of the sea. She was once hailed as a hero, but then Davy Jones imprisoned her in human form. For generations, she bided her time until she partially broke free. Now she aims to steal the Ice Princess's powers for her own bidding. She wants revenge on the man who broke her heart." he said.

"Wait a minute...a woman, wants to kill the Ice Princess for her powers?" Akira asked. Gentiana nodded, a sigh escaping her lips.

"If the princess is killed by one that doesn't bear the mark, the power will be transferred to them. The ice will corrupt their heart, and warp their mind. Calypso is already an all powerful being, imagine her hyped up with the Princess's power."

"She'd be unstoppable...which is why the mark chose me, I need to stop her before that happens. Hector, what about the keys?" Akira asked.

"Aye, I did track down one of the keys. However, if you want to track down the other two, you'll have to seek someone else. Someone familiar with the legend of the Ice Princess. I'll write down the directions to the dungeon where it was spotted last." the man said, pulling out a piece of parchment.

"Shit, I knew this wouldn't be so easy." Akira muttered dryly.

"It matters not, if we secure this key, then we will be one step closer to freeing the Princess no? We just can't have Calypso take them from us." Gentiana said, giving him a warm smile. He nodded, glancing at the bubbling potions.

"Yeah, don't worry Genny, I'm not letting them steal them."

"Genny? A nickname?" she asked.

"Yeah, I can't keep calling you Gentiana all the time right? We're friends after all." he said. The woman blushed, rolling the name around her mind, before nodding.

"Okay, I don't mind that name." she said.

"Aye, here be the directions. If I we're you, I would be careful with those, don't know what vagrant would be after that." the man said, handing the paper to Akira. He looked it over, reading the name of the dungeon.

"Zanarkand, the dungeon of the forgotten spirits. Wait...I remember there being a place like that near Spira. The 42nd Floor." Akira said.

"Aye, that be the place. Be careful, I hear a powerful creature guards the key, one of Calypso's minions."

"Yes I understand." Gentiana said.

"Wait, she sent minions to find the keys?" Akira asked.

"Indeed, you see Calypso is still bound in human form, but partial amounts of her power have escaped. Due to her divinity, she cannot touch the keys themselves. But her minions can still gather them for her. She plans to break out of her human bounds when the princess is slain, and steal her power for herself."

"Ah, that makes sense. I guess we should leave then?" he asked, earning a nod from the black haired woman.

"Thanks so much Hector. I promise you, Calypso won't win." she said firmly.

"I know she wont, give her hell." the man said.

The two left the store, once again facing the rancid streets of Candle Cove. They remained quiet as they slowly made their way to the teleport gate. As they approached it though, Akira felt something was wrong. He reached for his dagger, quickly turning around.

"Who ever is out there, show yourself!" He cried out.

Laughter filled the area, as several men came out from around some buildings. Due to the mist, they were practically invisible. Akira looked around, there were 35 or so, all of them wearing some polished armor. He recognized it though, and he growled under his breath.

"Who are these people?" Gentiana asked.

"The Divine Dragon Alliance. How the hell did you guys find out about this quest?" Akira asked.

"It was quite simple, we've been keeping tabs on you for awhile now murderer. But one of our own let us know what you were up to." the voice of Lind said, as he walked forward. There was another man next to him, wielding a sharp looking lance.

"That's a pretty long lance, you trying to compensate for something?" Gentiana asked, drawing her sword.

"Shut up broad, I'm not compensating for anything!" the man shouted. Akira inwardly chuckled, though he kept a firm look at all of the players in front of him.

" _Thirty Five players, most of them tanks, and all of them are from the Assault Team. Lind is here and so is his second in command Schmitt. I would have thought he'd have better shit to do, but he must have heard about this quest from someone."_ he thought, narrowing his eyes.

"So, are you going to give us those keys are what? Don't make us take them by force." Lind said.

"We're in a safe zone dumb ass, if you attack me nothing will happen. And just so you know Lind, I never liked you. Not your faggot ass face, not your faggot ass hair, and not your faggot ass armor either." he said, making the teenager fume.

"That's quite enough you lowly retch. Now, be kind as to fork over that key, or I'll definitely do something about it."

Akira hissed in anger at the sound of the voice. Glancing to the right, he saw another familiar face, that of Hayato. The man was wearing the same armor as before, but near his HP bar was a familiar insignia, that of the DDA. Akira gripped his dagger tightly.

"So, it must have been you who tagged us. I was wondering who would be dumb enough to follow me to Laguna, knowing I was one of the top tier players." he said.

"Yeah, it was a bit of a pain, but seeing you talking to this bitch about that Grand Quest was well worth it. Now I know about it and I can rob all of the experience and armaments for myself." he said.

"And you brought them because?" he asked, glancing at Lind and the others.

"We tagged along for insurance. We can't have our newest member being killed off by the likes of an assassin such as yourself. Some of the players that knew Ralph are full fledged members, and they want nothing more than to end your existence." Lind replied.

"Oh, I'm so scared. They want to kill me but go and hide behind the most corrupt guild in SAO. Please, if you wanted to get revenge, you would come challenge me like men. As if you even have what it takes to beat me anyway. But you know, I'll leave you all with a parting gift." Akira said, a smirk on his face. In a flash, he threw three bottles onto the ground, each of them bursting into a thick black smoke, covering the entire area. He grabbed a hold of Gentiana's hand, pulling her to the teleporter.

"Teleport: Luxerion!" he shouted, disappearing in a flash.

"Quick, after them!" Hayato cried, racing through the smoke.

"Did you hear where they went?"

"Floor 17, we'll just follow their prints with my Search Skill." one man said, all of them disappeared, appearing on the 17th Floor. Meanwhile on the 42nd Floor, Akira and Gentiana were running, making sure no one was following them.

"Man, I'm glad teleporters exist in this place. Teleporting to another floor before our stop surely was a good idea. Those idiots will probably run around Luxerion until they realize they've been duped." Akira said.

"Were those men friends of yours?" Gentiana asked, stopping at the edge of the forest. Akira shook his head.

"No, their a player guild, a corrupt one at that. They'll do anything for a rare item, even if it means using dirty tricks. The fact that they have no qualms with killing means they're willing to sacrifice it all. We should be safe here though, Zanarkand shouldn't be that far from here." he said, glancing at the map Hector had made. Thankfully he hadn't heard anything outside of the shop, so he knew they would be safe, for however long that took. It wouldn't be long until someone checked every floor and found their prints, he needed to be gone by then.

"Don't worry, as long as we've got the map we'll be fine." Gentiana said, taking the map from his hands. He let her take the lead, while he focused on watching the back, dagger in hand.

Thanks to Liz, he had actually gotten his first player made dagger. It had replaced his Sword Breaker as his main weapon. While he admitted it was a good short sword, it wasn't a good weapon for him to level up his skills. The Dagger support system was the first one he had maxed out, with One Handed Swords being a close second. It was the reason why his Hiding, Sneaking and Listening skills had been maxed out. It had been the perfect DPS weapon available, even if swinging a larger piece of steel was more fun.

The Dagger itself looked sort of like a pitch fork. The blade was split in half, with a circular cross holding the blades together. They were in the shape of a lightning bolt, both being razor sharp and pointed at the end. The blade itself was colored a mint green, mostly because Lisbeth had used an Evasion Ore to boost his strongest stat. It was rather light too, since she had used a secondary speed ore to boost it's speed. It also made the sword skills activate much faster, which was a boon for him.

As they walked he glanced over his shoulder, still paranoid that he was being followed. In all obviousness he was, but he just couldn't stay calm. Gentiana noticed this and pulled him to a stop, causing him to look at her.

"Calm down, I know those men are making you worry. But we have to focus on our task, if not we won't be able to reach Zanarkand." she said.

"Sorry, I'm just...anxious if you will." he said, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Yes, I understand. Being followed by a guild isn't exactly the best for us right now, but we must reach the dungeon before them. Only then can we breathe easy. Now come along." she said, pulling him along.

Akira had to admit, for an NPC, Gentiana was rather intriguing. She was nothing more than a collection of data. A bunch of complex codes, and yet she felt almost human. It was possible she was an AI, but she hadn't shown any advanced intelligence. She was just acting as her programming dictated and yet...it felt different.

"Maybe I would calm down if we talked for a bit. Um...what was your husband like?" he asked. She smiled warmly, glancing at the sky.

"My husband Noctis, he was a wonderful man. Young and full of life, he was a prince, though no one recognized him as one. He had been kicked off the throne at a young age, and was fighting tooth and nail to reclaim it. However, some evil men eventually convinced him to follow a certain legend. They told him that if he became the gilded hero, he could reclaim his throne. It was nothing more than an elaborate scheme, and he was killed before he knew it. When I heard what he was doing, I went after him on horse back. However, not even the fastest horse could take me to where he was, by the time I found him, all that was left was a body and a sword. The sword I carry now is his last remaining sentiment." she said, placing a hand on the hilt of her long sword. Akira frowned, not expecting that kind of answer.

"I'm sorry to hear that Genny, I wasn't expecting something so horrible to have happened to him." he replied.

"I'm sorry too...sorry that I didn't find the bastard that did it. I'm sure Calypso had her hand in his murder, it's one of the reasons why she needs to die." she said firmly.

"Then I'll help you, if it means avenging your husband, then I'll become the hero." he said firmly.

"Thank you Akira, you are a noble man. What was your wife like?" she asked curiously. He smiled, remembering his fallen wife.

"She was beautiful. We hadn't been dating long, or even married that long either, two months at most. We were young, but she didn't care. She wanted to dive head first into our relationship, get as much love out of it as she could. She was a fighter, and wouldn't give up for anything. She was also caring, and would help train young warriors in the way of the sword. But two weeks ago, while we were attempting to defeat a beast in Algade, she fell in battle, protecting me. I haven't been able to forgive myself for it." he said. He felt his throat tighten up a bit, as tears brimmed his eyes.

"I'm sure she loves you Akira, where ever she is. She would want you to move on, and live your life. I'm sure that's what Noctis wanted me to do...you already got your revenge, but I haven't gotten mine yet. If we work together, I'm sure both of them will rest easy."

"You're right...thanks Genny, I think I needed that. If it means I get to enjoy my life, I'll have to let her rest. But I'll never let go of what we had." he said firmly.

The woman suddenly stopped, having reached a hill. They both looked down the path, seeing the land that opened up before them. It was a moonlit dungeon, with mounds of sand all over the place, along with crystal blue water. There were glowing blue lights all over the place. The thing that stuck out the most was the ruins in the center of the place. It looked like a coliseum, or what had once been one. There were buildings all over the place, all of them having fallen to ruin. The place looked like it had been abandoned for over a thousand years.

"I believe we've reached our destination." Gentiana said, looking at the map.

"Down there? That place looks like an abandoned city." Akira replied.

"It is, supposedly the little blue ethereal lights floating around us are human souls belonging to the people that drowned here over a thousand years ago." she said, walking down the path.

"Oh...oh." he said softly.

They continued walking in silence, avoiding some of the debris that littered the area. Akira tried to ignore the fact he kept stepping in shallow pools of water, his pants having been thoroughly soaked. He looked up from the ground, seeing a thin sparkling trail of ice before him. Glancing at his mark, he saw another petal had appeared on the flower.

"Gentiana, look at this." he said, holding his hand out to her. She stopped, glancing at the mark.

"Hmm...at this rate, I'd say we have about five days or so before the Ice Princess appears. We're making excellent time...the trail should have appeared yes?"

"Yeah, let's just go this way." Akira said, taking the lead.

As they kept walking, Akira noticed how quiet the area was. They were walking through a dungeon and yet not a single monster had spawned. That usually meant there was a boss monster around. The two stopped in front of the arena, glancing inside. The sound of the waves really didn't calm them down any. With a nod, they proceeded inside.

"So, what do you think is in here?" Akira asked curiously.

"I don't know...hopefully we can just find the key and leave." the woman replied.

"If only, knowing Kayaba this isn't going to be easy." he muttered softly to himself.

The ancient script on the walls were rather interesting, but Akira paid them no mind. The two continued walking along until they reached the center of the arena. Every other route had been blocked by debris or large boulders, making it a pretty linear path. There, in the center of the arena sat a pedestal. It was a rather random thing to leave in a thousand year old decrepit building, but Akira wasn't about to question it. He stopped, opening his menu for a few brief seconds while he equipped his One Handed Sword. He made sure he had all of his potions and crystals equipped as well.

"Well, no turning back. As soon as we approach that pedestal we'll need to be ready for hell." the boy replied, earning a nod from Gentiana, who had also drawn her own sword.

As they approached the pedestal, the two of them heard a load growl. The area shook, with each heavy footstep the creature took. It finally jumped down before them, the ugly blue skinned Orc landed on the ground with a bang. The area shook from the weight of the monster, knocking some of the old stone off the walls. It reached behind its back pulling out a large One Bladed Ax. Its face was twisted into a grin, as it licked its lips menacingly. The cursor finally appeared above it, along with the HP bars, six in total.

"The Orc Warrior...this is as strong as a floor boss." Akira said, swallowing hard.

"Don't worry Akira, we will work together to defeat this minion." Gentiana said. He nodded, running forward with a yell.

Akira's sword clashed loudly with the creatures shield, and he was easily pushed back, having taken a little bit of damage. His Battle Healing skill had easily replenished it, but he realized the creature was very defensive. Gentiana came in with her own Sword Skill, slicing the creature across the chest. It roared loudly, glaring at her.

"I'll distract it and you attack it from the back. We'll switch whenever we're hurt." she said.

"Alright, that's better than anything I got." he said, surprised that an NPC could actually strategize.

He ran forward, throwing a few quick slashes between its shoulder blades. He rose his sword high, striking the creature with a Vertical.

" _Jeez, even if I hit it with all of my skills I won't do enough damage to it. It's gonna take way to long...no wonder this is a Grand Quest. The thought of having to face two more of these plus the Princess and Calypso...it's just mind boggling."_

"Gentiana, Switch!" he cried out. The woman jumped out of the way of the glowing Axe, dodging the creature's powerful swing. Akira ran in, sword glowing a brilliant red.

"Start Quint Prominence!" he howled. In a blinding flash, a star shaped gash had formed on the Orc's chest, causing it to howl in pain. It planted its feet firmly on the ground, bashing Akira with his shield. He slammed into the floor, stunned from the attack.

"Akira, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy!" he called out. He glanced up, seeing the Orc about to swing a glowing axe at him. Gentiana moved in to intercept it, using her sword to block the blade. She easily pushed the axe out of the way, slashing the Orc's arm. It moved away from them, just as the first HP bar hit zero, leaving it with Four Full bars.

"I didn't think it would bash me with that shield...this is going to be problematic." he muttered.

"Akira, there's something else you don't know about the mark. The mark isn't just a sign of you being the hero. It also gives you a bit of the Princess's Power. It will allow you to use Ice Magic."

"Magic? Are you serious?" Akira cried, clearly in disbelief.

There was no way. Akihiko Kayaba made it very clear that Magic didn't exist in SAO. The fact that Gentiana had even mentioned it really took him aback. The only magic that existed was in condensed form, the Teleport Crystals and the Healing Crystals were the only types of magic, everything else was either brewed or made through the system. It just didn't make sense. The Orc roared again, raising its axe above his head.

"Yes, that mark is a sacred sign. It's the calling card imbued on you by the princess! Her magic is within you, focus on it and use it to power your attacks!" the woman cried, once again blocking the axe. She pushed the creature back, using Meteor Break to stun him. Akira rapidly stood up, grabbing a hold of his sword.

"Alright, if this is really magic...then I have to use it to defeat this bastard. Now, sacred power of the princess, imbue my blade with your strength! Allow me to use your power to defeat the fangs of evil!" he chanted. His eyes widened a bit, not expecting that to come out of his mouth. He most likely said that on impulse due to the system.

The flower mark glowed brightly, the blue light swirling around his sword, covering it with blue crystalline ice. He ran forward, activating his Phantom Rave sword skill, the crimson glow of the skill mixed with the blue ice made the sword glow a brilliant purple. With a shout, he swung his blade, each slice leaving tiny particles of ice floating in the air. He glanced at the HP bar, seeing it was dropping significantly. He smirked, waiting for the Post Skill Motion to finish.

"This just got a lot more fun." he said.

"Channel the magic through your hand, form it with your mind and unleash its full power!" Gentiana cried, taking her chance to do some extra damage. Akira nodded, raising his hand. A large swirling ball of ice formed in his palm, and he thrust it forward, throwing it right at the creatures face. He quickly formed another ball, launching it forward.

"Ice Spike!" he cried. The chunk of ice spun like a drill as it flew forward, striking the Orc's chest. It roared in pain, the ice breaking apart a second later. He glanced at his HP bar, seeing it was near the yellow. He also noticed a new blue bar, which he guessed was an MP Gauge. It was also at half. He grit his teeth, running forward aiming his sword forward.

"I'm going to finish this as fast as I can! Let's go, Cross Combination!" he cried. He jumped into the air, bringing the sword down hard, he spun on his heel, slashing across before bringing the blade up. He brought it down at an angle, slashing across once more before bringing it down vertically. With each slash an icy tendril wisped out of the blade, causing extra damage onto the creatures skin. With one final slash, the Orc exploded into pixels, each of them blinking out of existence. He fell to the ground, panting a bit.

"Akira, are you alright?" Gentiana asked, concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired...man I didn't think casting magic would take so much out of me. I gotta admit, it's pretty cool." he said, glancing at his health. It was slowly regenerating, along with his Magic Points. The woman sighed, kneeling next to him.

"Magic is a lost art in this world, only those who have proven themselves worthy in battle receive this amazing blessing. Since you are the hero, you get access to the Princess's Ice Magic. I'm sure there are other legendary warriors with their own unique elements. Only six of them remain in this world. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Darkness and Light. Ice is a sub-magic of water, so technically you get two elements." she said.

"Interesting...and here I thought magic wasn't coded into this game. Good Job Kayaba, you've successfully kept me interested." he said. Gentiana looked at him oddly before standing up, walking toward the pedestal. She smiled, grabbing the golden key that had appeared on it.

"Look, the key was on this pedestal. That's the second one, now we need to find the other two." she said, placing it in her pocket.

"Yeah, where ever they are." he deadpanned, sheathing his sword at his hip. The woman hummed, glancing at the pedestal.

"There's writing here, it's...a weird language though."

Akira rolled his eyes and walked over to it. If his Quest NPC friend couldn't read it, that meant that only the party leader/player could read it. He looked at and sure enough, the runes were glowing blue.

"The sacred key is hidden well, in a place were the living do not dwell. Underground you'll have to go, in a land where it always snows. Shit, I don't remember there being any floors were it was always snowing." he muttered. Gentiana hummed to herself, snapping her fingers.

"There's a mountain range south of Gnarnia, when I was growing up I used to live there. It didn't matter what kind of weather it was in the city, the mountain was always covered in snow. Even when you approached the base of it, it would be too cold to even attempt climbing it. They say a Yeti lives at the summit and its responsible for the perpetual snowfall."

"Gnarnia...you know what, that somehow makes sense. I can't believe Kayaba avoided legal issues by adding a G to that name. Then again he trapped 10,000 of us in this game, I doubt he even cares. The bastard." he muttered.

"Um, what are you talking about Akira? You've said a lot of weird things on this journey." Gentiana said, earning a chuckle from him.

"Don't worry about it. So, we'll have to travel to the 29th Floor. Great, another middle floor adventure. We better leave before those bastards find us." he said, pulling out a crystal, he held it up, crushing it in his hand.

"Teleport: Gnarnia!" he cried. In a flash, they disappeared.

Xxx

"That's how you found the second key right? You also became the first person in Aincrad to wield magic...a very unique skill." Yui said.

"Yup, say I got a question. SAO was originally designed without magic, did Cardinal create the Quest for that purpose, or was Magic added by it on a whim?" he asked.

"Hmm...I don't believe it was originally part of the quest. I do have some files regarding the origin of the Ice Magic skill, including its skill tree, but it doesn't state why Cardinal created it. I suppose it wanted to give the players an edge on the higher floors."

"That makes sense. Thanks sweetheart, I appreciate the information." he said, ruffling her hair. She smiled, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Uncle, I missed hanging out with you. Mommy and Daddy have been busy a lot lately, so they don't play with me as often." she said.

"I know, they're dealing with school. Asuna is still recovering from what happened to her in the original ALO, and I think Kirito is still coping with what happened. We all are, it's only been four and a half months after all." he said.

"Yeah, I still have dreams about everything. I find myself back there, in the Town Square on day one. All of those people, scared of what was going on. They just stood there, processing everything, not knowing that a month later 2,000 of them would be dead." Rain said, a firm look on her face. She set aside her sharpening stone, glancing at the Amber Blade in her hand.

"It's a scary thought, my heart was beating wildly out of my chest. I felt like it was going to pop. In my mind, I knew I was scared, but I didn't even care at the moment. The man just told us his world had become our world. So I just embraced it, maybe that was a mistake." he said.

"I don't think so. Out of all the 10,000 players in SAO, you were one of the few that was actually happy. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to meet you, Mommy and Daddy. I wanted to see what made you happy, so I could help the other players. I was in a dark room for so long, just watching everyone around me die...you brought me out of there, and for that I can't thank you enough!" Yui said, hugging him tightly.

"Aw, you're welcome Yui! Besides, I'm glad my happiness brought you out, now I have a cute little niece who's cheeks I can pinch!" he said. Yui groaned in embarrassment as the boy pinched her cheeks.

"Now now, let's not assault the little girl. We need her as our navigator after all." Rain said, in a scolding tone.

"Right, how are the swords coming along?"

"Great, I've restored their durability and enhanced them quite a bit, thanks to the ore that we found yesterday. They are primed and ready to go." Rain said. Akira stood up, claiming his blades once more, once equipped, he placed them back at his sides.

"I'm ready to learn teach!" he exclaimed, causing Rain to blush.

"I'll do my best. Oh, Yui-chan, do you think you can do a search for me?" she asked.

"Sure Rain-san, I can search anything you'd like."

"Excellent, could you look into the quest, 'To Defeat a Champion' for me? We took this quest earlier and need to find a coliseum in Aincrad, but the only one I remember is on Floor 75. It could really help us out." she said.

"No problem, I'll find out all I can!" the little girl said, giving them a salute. Akira chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"Sit tight kiddo, you can watch us for now. I'll be a pro at this skill in no time."

"Don't cut yourself!" the girl replied cheekily, causing the boy to glare at her. He couldn't help but smile after.


	16. Aincrad Arc: The Final Keys

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the newest chapter of the Violet Assassin! Last chapter, Akira went well underway into his Grand Quest, even running into some bad guys along this way. This chapter will continue it.**

 **I hope you are all liking this story so far, the reviews have been positive and that's always good. Be sure to like and favorite the story, and share your thoughts on it over all, I'm always here to listen.**

 **On an added note, for those of you following The Legends of Kalos, I want to say that Chapters 1-16 have all been edited and re uploaded, with sixteen being completely rewritten from the ground up. Be sure to check it out and tell me if you like the new stuff.**

 **Also, if you have watched Samurai Jack since the beginning, what did you think of the ending? I honestly thought it was mediocre, I wanted it to be a happier ending than what we got, but it was okay for a series that took so long to continue.**

 **Anyway, here's the new chapter, hope you like it!**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 16

The Final Keys

Akira panted a bit, his grip lose on his blades. He stared down his opponent who was preparing to attack him again. He knew she would be relentless, so he was preparing for everything. She took a step forward and he immediately crossed his swords, catching one of her blades. He pushed her back just as she swung her second blade. They clashed again, ending in a bit of a stalemate as they pushed each other back. Akira spun around, using her momentum against her. He was able to slash her across the back, lowering her HP a bit. The girl smirked and quickly turned around, aiming another volley of fast slashes at him.

"Come on Akira, you aren't giving it your all. How are you going to master Dual Wielding if you aren't trying?" Rain teased, causing him to growl.

"I am trying, I'm still getting used to two swords!" he cried, crossing his swords again. She used a faint, delivering two swift slashes across his chest. Her sword glowed a bright blue as she used a low level Slant to disarm him. He sighed, dropping to his knees as the duel ended, with Rain being the winner.

"Rain wins again, that's the fourth time uncle, maybe you should give up." Yui said, earning a groan from the boy.

"Maybe you're right kiddo." he said.

"I know this is tough since it's a new weapon type, but dueling is the best way to raise your sword skills. Even though there are currently no Dual Wielding sword skills, there is a mastery for it. If we can get it to one thousand before those skills are added to the game, you'll be able to unlock them all in one fell swoop." Rain replied.

"That's true, and I was able to reach level 300 on my master just from dueling, and clearing this field. Do you think I'm ready for your OSS?" he asked.

"Hmm...you might be able to handle it now. What's your MP like?" she asked.

"Right now, I only have about 2103 MP points." he said, glancing at his HP and MP bars.

"Okay, you'll be able to use this sword skill easily. However since it takes 2000 MP to use, you'll be without magic for awhile. So only use it as a last resort." she said firmly. He nodded, sheathing his swords.

"I will Rain, thanks again for this. With your help, I'll definitely be able to defeat Hayato." he said, a smile on his face. She blushed, opening her menu. After a few seconds, she pulled out a scroll.

"Here it is, a blank scroll." she said.

"What's that for?" Akira asked curiously, looking at the rolled piece of parchment.

"That's a blank scroll Uncle. Players who create their own skills receive those when the skill is registered to the player. Only on person can use an Original Sword Skill, and that person can only use one of these skills at a time. That's why these skills are so special, because it's created and shared among friends." Yui said, floating up next to the two teens.

"Wow, so you only get once chance to pass this along. Are you sure you want me to have this?" he asked.

"I made up my mind. I was going to save this for later but...when I heard about Hayato and what he was doing, I knew he had to be stopped. Original Sword Skills aren't registered by the system, so they are powerful skills. Hayato might be able to lock all of your skills, but he won't be able to lock this one." she said.

She drew her swords, both of them glowing blue as she activated her OSS. She thrust the blades at the scroll, the energy from them drifting slowly into the parchment, which was glowing a brilliant blue. The scroll rolled itself up, sealing itself with a blue bow.

"Okay, open the window." She said. Akira nodded, opening his menu. He opened the accepting window, and Rain pressed the scroll into it. A few seconds later, Akira was able to find it in his skill palette.

"There you go, you should be able to use it now. However, I recommend raising your MP a bit more. And some more HP couldn't hurt either, if you're gonna fight against this guy you'll need to be ready for anything." she said.

"There are some monsters near the Sylph territory that give out a lot of experience points. I can show you where to go." Yui said.

"Alright, lead the way then." Akira said, sheathing his swords. The three took off into the sky, once again leaving Aincrad. From a nearby tree, a lone figure watched them go, a smirk on his face.

"So, he thinks he can defeat me eh? We'll just see about that, especially after the next update." the man said, chuckling under his breath.

"So, do you think you can tell us a little more of your story uncle? Please?" Yui asked. She had flown into one of his empty pockets, hanging on tightly to the edge of it. Akira chuckled, giving her a nod.

"I suppose I can continue. Hmm, alright this takes place right after I got the second key. The Quest wasn't easy on me after that...not one bit."

xxx

 _(December 18_ _th_ _2023 Location: Gnarnia Floor 29: 1:05PM)_

Having gone home from the previous quest, Akira and Gentiana were now on the trail of the third key. So far Akira had found nothing. He knew the Divine Dragon Alliance was looking for him and Gentiana, but he didn't know where or when they would show up. That was enough to put him on edge, but his black haired companion managed to keep him calm.

The two of them were walking down a snow trodden path leading away from the main settlement on the 29th Floor. Akira was still miffed about the legal issues Kayaba avoided, but decided to keep them to himself. After all there was no way his companion would even understand what he was saying.

Ahead of them was a tall mountain range, the tallest on the 29th Floor. Last time he had been there, he had heard from the Assault Team that the place had been virtually inaccessible. However, the path had finally been cleared away, allowing them entree into the mountain path.

The large peaks extended high above them, but were still miles away from touching the bottom of the 30th Floor. He was still surprised at how well spaced each floor was. Each one could hold vast lands and mountain ranges, and yet it was all neatly stacked, almost like a deck of cards, or a game of Jenga. Hopefully the blocks didn't come crumbling on them all.

"Here we are, the path extends up from here." Gentiana said, pointing to the stairs covered entirely with snow and ice. Akira shivered a bit, the wind having picked up.

"Are you sure this is safe? Will the Yeti get pissed off or something?" he asked.

"That's a risk we'll have to take. We have two keys Akira, we can definitely do this...so don't flake on me now." the woman said, rolling up the map she had bought in town. He sighed, deciding to let her take the lead.

He hugged his cloak tightly onto himself, not bothering to put the hood on. He shivered a bit, as the frozen snowflakes assaulted his face. He couldn't feel his cheeks or his nose, but luckily he wasn't near the hypothermia temperatures yet. He paused, bringing a coat out of his inventory. He rapidly placed it on, feeling a bit warmer.

"Are you cold Gentiana? I have another coat I could let you borrow."

"I'm fine. The cold never bothered me, I was raised in this place remember?" she asked.

"Ah yes, I remember now. You must be used to this snow and ice then?" he asked.

"Mhmm, you could say it's second nature to me. How's the mark?" she asked. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, looking at the flower. It had gained another petal, bringing the total to four. He only had two more days to find the keys and defeat the Princess. He smiled, showing her the mark.

"I got another petal, we should be fine if we keep this pace." he said.

"Indeed, let us move onward." she said, quickening her pace a bit. Akira was thankful his leather boots were resistant to the cold, he was sure he would have been frostbitten already.

After awhile, Gentiana thought it best for them to stop, luckily they had found an empty cabin not far from the summit. Once inside, Akira quickly lit the fire place, filling the the room with light. He sighed contently, feeling the heat of the fire.

" _I can't believe all of this is inside my head. This game is amazing, and it's too bad not everyone sees it that way."_ he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry Akira, I should have waited for the storm to die down a bit before we made this journey." the black haired woman said, setting a bundle of wood next to the fireplace. He shook his head, giving her a smile.

"It's alright. You said that Yeti makes endless snowstorms up here, so I doubt the snow would have died down. We're in this together, so don't worry about it, we'll be just fine!" he said. The woman smiled, sitting down next to him.

"You remind me of Noctis. He was always so happy, even in the bad times. He always knew how to cheer me up." she said, making the boy adopt a curious look.

"Really? Honestly I just try to stay positive. Over the last few weeks, I know I've fallen in a rut. I kept blaming myself over Sasha's death, and I made myself suffer. But, thanks to you I was able to realize that her death was something unavoidable. It didn't have to happen, but it did. She wouldn't be happy if I just gave up, no...she would shove her javelin right up my ass if she could." he said with a laugh. He grabbed the iron poker and started poking the sticks, shoving some more wood into the flames.

"I was the same for awhile, not wanting to do anything but sulk. Noctis was robbed of his chance to lead, and I was banished from the kingdom. I ended up remaking my life in Laguna. I learned about that legend and absolutely fell in love with it, but I was always apprehensive about it. It was the same one they used against him. I figured, if I could find all four keys and destroy them, maybe no one could fall victim to the same fate."

"But you grew interested in the temple, and in the princess right? You wanted to see if the legends were true. If by some chance, your husband was actually following a lead. And since she's a wielder of magic, you thought she could bring him back, right?" he asked. It was an assumption, but he was sure this question would get her to share more information. She grew silent, staring at the fire.

"When I hear it come from someone else, it sounds pretty stupid." she said.

"It isn't stupid, you were wronged. You just wanted to bring your loved one back, but if it were that easy...no one would ever die. We just have to move on. I'm glad I learned that before I was too far gone, and I got you to thank Gentiana." he said, placing his hand over hers. She smiled, giving him a loving look, something that Akira found really odd.

"I should be thanking you. You made my life just a little more interesting, I knew the Princess existed, but I never would have gone after her without that key. So thank you." she said.

"Don't worry, I'll see this mission through, I promise." he said. She nodded, leaning resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened a bit, biting his lip.

" _Okay, this is getting weird. Is this part of the Quest?"_ he thought to himself, his eyes looking at the fire. He couldn't keep looking at his companion. He didn't know what would happen if he kept going that way. Since he didn't know the parameters of the quest, he decided not to press anything too far.

"I think the storm died down a bit, shall we get a move on?" The woman asked, a frown on her face. He nodded, standing up. He grabbed his coat from the chair and put it back on. He materialized another one, draping it over the woman.

"I would feel better if you wore that Genny, I don't want you to suffer in the cold."

"A-Alright, thank you." she said, kissing his cheek. Akira blushed a bit, chuckling under his breath. He put out the fire, and not long after the two were back outside, braving the cold.

The forest of frozen trees gave way, showing some more open parts of the mountain. The large peak looked like an asteroid had taken a piece of it, giving it an almost crescent like look. The snow seemed to get stronger as they approached the summit. Akira used his hand to block the snow from hitting his face, making out a pedestal at the edge of the cliff side.

"There, I see the pedestal." Akira said.

"Let's go get the key, but be careful!" Gentiana said. The two of them walked forward, a howl echoing through the area. A strong gust of wind and ice whipped up, sending them flying back into the snow. Akira brushed the snow out of his face, glancing up at the pedestal.

There stood a creature, seen only in myth and in legend. It was a ten foot monster, covered entirely in white fur. It had a blue colored face, with simian like features. It had muscular looking arms with thick white fur on them. It was walking in the snow barefoot, and next to it was a large wooden club. It roared again, sending another icy wave at them.

"The Yeti of the North." Akira muttered, reading the name of the creature. Like the Orc, this one had 5 HP bars. By the looks of it, it used Mace skills. Akira stood up, drawing his sword from his waist.

"Alright, this is going to be a bit challenging due to the visibility. It's using a mace, so that means it's attack his higher than its defense, so let's just use some power attacks against it!" Akira said.

"Understood!" the woman cried out.

Akira raced forward, the snow crunching under his feet. The Yeti roared loudly, swinging its glowing club at him. He easily dodged it, slashing the creature across the chest. He slid across the ground, aiming a Vorpal Strike right to the back of its leg. It cried in pain, falling to a knee.

"Gentiana, switch!" he cried, backing away from the monster.

The black haired woman moved forward, throwing in her own sword skill. The Yeti howled in pain with each slash, taking massive amounts of damage. It had already lost one of its HP bars just from that one skill.

"Nice job, switch out. I got this!" he cried, throwing another volley of fast paced slashes.

The Yeti suddenly stood up, grabbing its club tightly in its hand. With a roar, it swung the large piece of wood, slamming it into the two. Akira slammed into a tree, crying in pain from the attack. He glanced at his HP bar, seeing it had fallen down to almost the yellow. Gentiana's was near the red from that one attack. He rapidly stood up, dashing toward the woman.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just focus on distracting it." she replied, pulling a potion out of her pocket. Akira dashed forward, using Vertical to get some extra damage in. The Yeti blocked the attack, interrupting the skill half way. Akira grit his teeth, loosing a few more Hit Points. The Yeti through a punch at him, slamming him into the ground. His health stopped just shy of the red.

"Ow, okay that sucked." he muttered, catching his breath a bit. He grabbed his sword, using it to stand back up. He held a crystal above his head, using it to restore a bit of his health.

He was about to run back in, when he heard something behind them. He rapidly turned around, his eyes scanning the forest behind them. He grit his teeth, glancing back at the Yeti's HP bar. He hissed angrily.

"Gentiana, there's someone else here. Guard the forest, I'll handle the Yeti." he said, dashing forward, activating his Horizontal Square.

"But you still haven't fully recovered!"

"If we don't get this key, we won't be able to save the princess right? Watch my back!" he cried, pushing the creature back.

He froze in place, forcing himself to move. When his body responded to him, he ran forward, throwing several speedy slashes. The Yeti punched him square in the face, but he planted his feet into the ground, not willing to move. His sword started glowing a bright blue, ice swirling around the blade.

"This is it! Frozen Vorpal!" he shouted, driving the blade right into the Yeti's chest. It howled in pain, backpedaling a bit. Akira froze for a bit, his sword still glowing blue. He glanced at his MP gauge seeing it had dropped to Eighty Percent full.

" _Magic Sword Skills, I didn't think that was possible...even now that I know they exist it's still a freaking surprise."_ he thought to himself.

He glanced up at the Yeti's HP bars, seeing it hadn't taken much damage from the attack. Akira quickly dashed back, avoiding the large club that was swung at him. The Yeti was a creature used to living in snow, so obviously it was strong against Ice magic. He quickly opened his menu, switching from his sword to his dagger. He also grabbed some Poison bombs, hoping the would help.

"Akira, we've got a situation!" Gentiana called out, causing the boy to glance back. His eyes widened a bit when he saw the familiar armor belonging to the DDA. He grit his teeth in anger, throwing the Poison bombs at the Yeti. It hissed in anger, trying to brush the smoke away, thankfully the status effect stuck, adding some damage to the bar.

"So, you think you can fool us? Don't you know we have tracking skills?" Hayato asked, walking forward. Akira looked around, but he didn't see Lind anywhere, nor did he see Schmitt. He figured the leader of the DDA had given the man his own squadron. Akira smirked, shaking his head.

"Honestly, I knew you had tracking skills. But I didn't think you would actually be dumb enough to fall for one of the dumbest tricks in the book. Did you have to manually search each floor? That must have been fun." he said.

"No matter, we are here and now we can take the keys from you. I'm fully prepared to kill you. Don't worry, we won't do anything to this NPC, well...we won't kill her. I'll be sure to have some fun with her before that." Hayato said, licking his lips. Akira was about to walk forward when Gentiana stopped him.

"Don't, we've come this far. Finish the monster off and take the key, I'll hold them off!" she said.

"No, you can't hold off all of these guys. Their stronger and more defensive than you." he said.

"Heroes don't die Akira, and you are the hero...you'll be fine on your own. I've done my part and now it's time for you to do yours. So kill this beast, and when you do get out of here." she said, tossing him the ring with the keys on it. He looked away from the woman, running back to where the Yeti was.

"Kill her, and when you do kill Akira too, and bring me those keys!" Hayato cried.

"Haah!" Akira cried, throwing a volley of speedy slashes. He used his Infinite Sword Skill to slash at the Yeti's legs. The sounds of the fight going on behind him only served as a distraction, so he turned it out. He glanced at his HUD, seeing Gentiana's HP had fallen into the yellow. The Yeti fell to its knees, and he quickly dashed forward, slashing at the creature's face.

"Just die already!" he shouted, throwing a piercing attack at its face.

He followed up with another slash before using his ultimate sword skill, Eternal Cyclone. He pulled his arm back, and in the blink of an eye, five new gashes dotted the Yeti's skin. It took its chance to attack, punching Akira straight into the air. It rose its club up, slamming it into the boy, sending him flying into the ground. His HP tanked, slowly reaching back until it stopped at ten points. He tried to move his arms but noticed the lightning bolt atop his HP bar. He had been rendered paralyzed by that strike. He grit his teeth as the Yeti stood over him, raising its club once more.

" _Goddamn it, here we are again. Facing off against another monster...well, at least I made it this far! Guess I'll be seeing you soon Sasha, wait for me."_ he thought to himself, as he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, waiting for the hit that would end his life.

He heard the creature bringing the club down, only it didn't make contact with him at all. A loud clang echoed through the area. Akira opened his eyes, seeing a familiar looking obsidian armor, along with a large great sword.

"Come on man, this isn't the place to take a nap!" the boy cried, pushing the Yeti back.

"I got next, someone heal Monsieur Akira!" another voice cried. Several speedy strikes slammed into the creatures chest, sending it back toward the pedestal.

"Thrice Blow!"

Akira struggled to move, wanting to see what was going on. He heard the sound of a shattering crystal and glanced at his HP bar, seeing it rapidly filling up. He saw a hand in front of him, and he took it without hesitation. He was brought to his feet, and was handed his weapon.

"You know, you are one crazy son of a bitch...next time you want to do a quest on your own, remember you got people to live for." Sapphira said.

"I'm sorry, it just happened suddenly...wait, what happened to Gentiana?" he asked.

"The black haired woman, I'm sorry she was killed by that Hayato bastard. As soon as we arrived, they all took off. They thought the Yeti finished you off." she said.

"Those bastards! There going to pay for this." he said, clutching his dagger tightly.

"They will, but first we have to take this creature down. You got a lot of explaining to do afterwards." Sapphira said. He nodded, glancing at his friends.

"Everyone, the Yeti uses Mace Skills, it sacrificed defense for strength. If you're hit with one of its skills, you'll be paralyzed. Someone aggro it while the others finish it off." he called out.

"You got your orders, everyone forward!" Sapphira cried, drawing her sword from its scabbard.

It didn't take long for them all to team up against the Yeti. With Aries and Nick's powerful skills and Morrison's speed, the creature didn't stand a chance. The small squad of five sat down in the snow, resting after the fight. Akira however walked over to the pedestal, seeing the glittering key made of ice resting on it. He grabbed the key, clutching it tightly in his hand. He glanced at his HUD, seeing Gentiana's bar had disappeared entirely. He slammed his fist against the pedestal, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Damn it, those bastards killed her. She wasn't supposed to die." he said.

"Dude, it's just a Quest NPC, she'll be back soon enough." Nick said.

"No, she wasn't just an NPC...there was something else in there. It was odd but she wasn't behaving like the other NPCs I ventured with in the past. She felt more like an AI." Akira said firmly.

"An AI, as a Quest NPC? What did you get yourself into?" Aries asked curiously, holding her mace close to herself.

"Two days ago, Hayato came up to me as usual. He kept asking me to give him money and items to compensate for Sasha's death. I of course turned him down, I ended up leaving Myujen for awhile. But when I came back to my room at the inn, I got a weird message. It ended up being an invitation for SAO's Grand Quest." he said.

"Grand Quest? That exists in this game?" Nick asked. Morrison opened his menu, going through all of the notes he had.

"It isn't in the Information Broker's list of available quests. You must have been chosen by the system itself." He said.

"That or Kayaba felt the need to reward him. I haven't heard of anything regarding a Grand Quest, Argo lets me know about that stuff. There's something fishy going on here." Sapphira said.

"Are there any prerequisites? Maybe other people can join, that would explain why the DDA is after you." Aries said. Akira shook his head.

"As far as I know there are no prerequisites. This was just something I was given, to tackle alone. I haven't seen anyone else talking about it, and nobody but me can see the mark." he said, holding his hand out.

"Mark, what mark?" Nick asked curiously.

"It's part of the quest. I wanted to keep it secret but, you guys are my friends so...taking this quest gives you Ice magic."

"Ice magic? I'm sorry Akira but you must have hit your head hard enough to mess up your brain. You know SAO was made without magic." Sapphira said. Akira smirked and rose his hand, forming a ball of ice in his palm. All of his friends looked at him in awe, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"Dio mio, it's ice. It's real ice magic." Aries said, poking the floating ball with his finger.

"There's no way...Kayaba made this game without magic, for it to suddenly spawn a quest with this...I need a second." Sapphira said, walking away from them for a bit. Akira let the ball fade out of existence, glancing over the edge of the cliff.

"The Cardinal System is an amazing piece of technology. It's self learning, so it will make quests and story lines unlike anything a person can come up with. That's how it keeps this game going, that's how it keeps Aincrad alive. The fact that it came up with this quest, and gave me magic, it's a way to keep this game interesting. Call me crazy, but I think that thing is alive. No matter, I have to finish this quest, I promised Gentiana I would." he said.

"Then let us help you. I'm willing to bet there's another monster just as strong as this one waiting for you. You got the DDA on your ass, most likely after the Quest rewards. You'll need someone to watch your back." Sapphira said, turning back to her friend.

"Fine...you're absolutely right. I can't tackle a Grand Quest on my own, I need my friends there. It'll be hard, since it's just the five of us...but we'll get it done. For Sasha and Gentiana." he said firmly.

"Alright right, we got the team back together!" Nick cried out, a grin on his face. Akira smiled, sending the party request. Once they had all accepted, he walked over to the pedestal.

"Alright, the final key location is written on this panel. Once we get all four keys together, we'll be able to head over to the Algade Temple on Floor 51 and end this quest." Akira said.

"So, what does the pedestal say? None of us can read it." Aries said.

"Oh right, let me read it. Uh...it says here that the final key is located in the land of the past. A world abandoned by the desolation of the desert." he said.

"Desolation of the desert, that would be an abandoned city...was there a floor with something like that on it?" Sapphira asked.

"I recall Floor 32 having an abandoned desert city. Let's check that place out." Morrison said. Akira nodded, pulling out a teleport crystal.

"Teleport: Oerba!"

xxx

 _(December 18_ _th_ _2023 Location: Oerba Floor 32: 4:48PM)_

"Ugh...it's so freaking hot here. How come all the other floors are hot and this one isn't?" Nick asked, wiping some sweat from his brow.

"Well for one, the other floors aren't a desert, and two we're on the 32nd Floor. It's only snowing beyond the 34th Floor." Sapphira added.

"That's sort of stupid if you ask me. It's snowing in Taft and Frieven, but not here? That's a poor design flaw if you ask me." Morrison added.

"Hey look, a some ruins. Something tells me our key is in there." Akira said, silencing his friends. They raced down the sand dune, heading toward the abandoned buildings.

They walked through the doors, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of life. Thankfully all of the monsters on the 32nd Floor were under leveled so they didn't have to worry about loosing HP. They walked through the darkened corridors, checking all of the places that were unmapped. They reached the end of the path, coming to a set of double doors.

"I don't remember this door being here the last time we came through here. This place was crawling with Front liners so they must have found something." Akira said.

"Well go on, open it." Sapphira snapped.

"Yeah yeah, don't rush me." he said, placing his hand over the door. The building rumbled a bit, and the doors slowly opened, shaking a bit as they did so.

Just past the door was a beautiful garden. It was covered in bright green patches of flowers, all of them being a light yellow flower. There were also some fluttering butterflies floating around. The building seemed to wrap around that small patch, shielding it from the elements around it. There was also some sort of irrigation system. Not far from them was a large lake, with a broken bridge right over it. It also had some wind turbines, still bringing up water from the lake and into the abandoned city. It seemed as if this was the closest place to the modern day within Aincrad as everywhere else was medieval themed.

Akira took a hesitant step forward, walking toward the flower patch. He noticed the worn out looking fountain at the other end of the yard. It seemed to house a small glass case in the center, which held the last key he needed to get access to the temple. As he walked toward it, the doors behind him and his friends closed, disappearing entirely.

"Uh oh...looks like we can't run from this boss monster." Nick said, his hand wrapping around the hilt of his sword.

"Just be on guard, it could be anything." Akira said, drawing his dagger from behind his back.

Thick vines started sprouting from the ground, shooting high into the air. The area shook as the monster literally sprouted from the ground. It was huge, with thick tree like vines forming up most of the body. The head was a vibrant blue color with spots all over the place, the mouth was lined with green thorn like spikes acting as teeth. White globs of acidic sap dribbled from its mouth, falling to the ground. Six HP bars appeared around it, the cursor blinking red.

"The Acidic Flytrap, and it's got Six HP bars." Sapphira said.

"This is thing is just as strong as a floor boss." Aries muttered.

"It may be, but look...its rooted to the ground, meaning it can't move. The only way it can attack are with those vines and the acid. So let's focus on cutting those down. Aries I want you in the front with me doing damage. Everyone else focus on the vines." he said.

"Right!" the all cried. They all ran forward, drawing their weapons.

Akira shot forward, aiming an Armor Pierce right at the center of the plant's body. He followed up with a Side Bite, dashing back to avoid one of the vines. Aries jumped in after him, driving her glowing mace right into its chest.

"Let's try this out for size! Trinity Arts!" she cried, the head of her mace glowing a vibrant green. She slammed the mace forward, spinning on her heal, she spun the mace over her head, driving the mace into the creature's sides. She jumped into the air, slamming the weapon atop its head, earning them a Dizzy Status. Akira grinned.

"Nice on Aries, switch!" he cried, jumping away from the main body. Morrison raced forward, his Rapier glowing a bright gold.

"Rapid Stab!" he cried out. The blade turned into a blur as he rapidly stabbed the plant, leaving small glowing red dots on its body. Morrison froze in place, waiting a few seconds to dash away, just as Nick came in with an Avalanche.

"We're looking good guys. It's already down by one bar!" Sapphira said, throwing in her own sword skill.

The Plant suddenly howled, even thicker vines sprouting from the ground. They shot forward, aiming to wrap around its attackers. Akira dodged the attack easily, slicing right through one. Morrison and Nick did the same, but Aries and Sapphira weren't as lucky. They both cried out, being hoisted into the air.

"Aries, Sapphira!" Nick cried.

"Morrison, get Sapph, I'll get Aries, Nick focus on damage!" Akira cried, running forward.

"That kid is crazy as all hell." Nick muttered, before doing his task. He hefted his sword with ease, bringing it down on one of the vines near him, slicing it clean in half.

Akira jumped into the air, using one of the other vines as a stepping stone. Using his high evasion, he was able to avoid all of the other vines aimed at him. Aries as swinging her mace at the vine that ensnared her, hoping to free herself. She let out a yelp when the creature flipped her upside down. She let go of her mace, in favor of holding up her skirt. She used her shield to deflect the vines.

"Figlio di puttana, let me go bastardo!" the girl cried, her shield absorbing each hit. She felt two more vines wrap around her legs, forcefully spreading them apart. She let out a scream, only for her to suddenly feel weightless. Akira swooped in, catching the girl before she hit the ground head first. His cloak billowed behind him as he landed, setting her down.

"Grazie, you didn't see right?" she asked.

"Nope not at all." he replied, a vibrant blush on his face. He handed her the mace she had dropped, spinning just in time to slice off another vine.

"In the future, try to pay attention, I don't want your first time to be at the hands of a plant." he said, quickly dashing away.

"Idiota! I'll get you back for that!" she cried, grabbing her mace tightly.

"Guys, it's getting ready for another attack!" Sapphira cried, having finally been freed. The plant roared loudly at the loss of its vines and started to shake a bit, its mouth being wide open. They all backed away, just as it hocked a huge glob of acidic sap onto the field.

"Ew, that's gross!" Aries cried out, watching as the acid melted the ground. Akira took a look at their HP, seeing most of them were still in the yellow. He and Morrison were the only ones on the green. He glanced at him, giving him a nod.

"Morrison, let's go in. Everyone else focus on healing!" he said.

He and the rapier user dashed forward, avoiding all of the vines thrown at them. Morrison swung his sword, slicing through several thick vines that had come out of the ground. Akira dashed through the hole, his blade glowing purple.

He sliced the creature horizontally, spinning his dagger on his hand before slashing upward. He dropped down to his hand and delivered a fierce kick, he jumped back up and spun as fast as he could, slashing the creature once more. He let out a roar, driving the blade straight into the Flytrap's body.

"How'd ya like my Rapid Raid eh bitch?" he asked. The Flytrap replied by wrapping a vine around him, throwing him high into the air. He smirked, spinning his body around to straighten himself out. He used his momentum and drove his dagger down, activating Armor Pierce.

"Nice one Akira, come on we've got it on its last legs!" Sapphira cried, dashing forward with her own skill. Akira backed away, drawing a potion from his pocket. He glanced up at the Flytrap, seeing it had fallen down to the second to last HP bar.

It started hocking more globs of spit at them, but with coordinated attacks and their evasiveness, the Plant stood no chance against them. With one final attack, the creature burst into polygons, disappearing from the field. The doors behind them reappeared, slowly opening back up. Akira sighed, sheathing his dagger. He looked at his friends, a smile on his face.

"Good work fellas. We made quick work of this thing." he said.

"No prob boss, say does that mean we can reform the guild?" Nick asked. Aries slapped the teen on the head, shaking her head.

"I'm not ready to be back in a guild...when I formed it, I wanted us to be like a family. But with Sasha gone...I just...don't feel like being a part of it. You guys can reform it if you want, we did honest work training the others to reach Floor 35." he said, walking forward the fountain. He tapped the case, willing it to disappear. He grabbed the final key, looking it over.

"We got the four keys, now what do we do?" Morrison asked, glancing at the pedestal. Akira glanced at it as well, seeing nothing written on it. Looking at his hand, he saw that there was another petal on the flower mark.

"Let's go back to Mishe, we need to talk about our next plan." Akira said.

"I agree, it's already late in the day. Besides Aries promised she would make us some food. She finally maxed out her Cooking Skill." Sapphira said, making the girl blush.

"It was nothing, I had a lot of time since we weren't actively on the Assault Team. I'll make you all some Lasagna, sadly it won't taste as amazing as in the real world, but I can handle it." she said.

"Okay, let's get outta here...I think I'm good with the plant monsters for now." Nick said. Akira chuckled, shaking his head.

It wasn't long before the five were back in their house in Mishe. Akira felt a bit weird being back in that house. It just didn't feel the same without Sasha, but it still had that homey feel that he remembered. He noticed the walls were decorated with picture frames now, all of them being pictures that they all had taken. There was one he had taken on the day his guild was formed down on the 34th Floor. He frowned, glancing at Sasha's smiling face.

"You know, Sasha really cared for you. She told us on one of our outings, after you two had gotten hitched. She said she was there when everything with Ralph went down." Sapphira said, standing next to Akira. She had taken off her armor, choosing to remain in a sports bra and a pair of shorts.

"She was? She never told me this." he said.

"She didn't want you to know, she thought you would have been mad at her or something. Honestly I don't know what she was thinking. She said she married you because she honestly thought you were a good person. She didn't want to die without being married." she replied.

"She's in a better place right now. It would have been ideal if she left this game with us but...life isn't guaranteed. Not everyone will make it out of here alive, it might be me next time." he said.

"Don't talk like that Akira...you've got friends that care about you. You can't just disappear and expect us all not to worry. Do you know how many times you disappeared off the map and we all got worried? Silica spent three days at in the Black Iron Palace staring at your name."

"I've got to apologize to her...the poor thing. She was one of my first friends in this world, and I feel like shit for making her and you all worry." he said.

"Don't worry about it. She knows you didn't mean too, just don't do it again...now let's go into the kitchen." she said, dragging the boy into the other room.

"So boss man, what exactly is the plan?" Nick asked, leaning back in his seat with a glass of orange juice in his hands.

"Yeah, we got the keys. Do we have to hunt down the door they go too?" Morrison asked curiously. The boy looked a bit odd without his hat, and Akira was trying his hardest not to laugh. He adopted a pensive look.

"Gentiana said when we gathered up all of the keys, we had to go to the Algade Temple. If I remember correctly, Floor 51 doesn't have a settlement because most of it is the temple. Did the clearing team say anything about it?" he asked.

"Not really, the temple itself was blocked off for some reason. Everyone walked past it and hunted the fields and dungeons on the way to the Labyrinth. Floor 52 was accessed just this morning, and no one really noticed anything up there either." Sapphira said.

"What about the quest itself, is there an event list?" Nick asked. Akira nodded and opened his menu, going straight to the event list. Everything was checked off, except the final part.

"It says, head to the Algade Temple and open the door. I'm not sure what will happen there, but I'm assuming we'll need to fight Calypso and the Princess." he said.

"Calypso?" Aries asked, looking up from the food she was preparing.

"Gentiana said she was a devine being betrayed by Davy Jones and bound in human form. She wants to kill the Ice Princess and steal her power, in order to use it against humanity and the man who betrayed her heart. However, my task is to free the Ice Princess from her own heart, by thawing the ice in her heart. In order to do that I have to kill her." he said.

"That's some mission. Man, I really want to know the story behind this quest, it sounds really interesting." Nick said.

"We can check the transcripts after we all log out. That is if the servers survive deletion or something. Knowing Kayaba, after his little game is over he'll want to destroy the evidence." Sapphira added.

"Anyway, compared to the monsters I've faced so far, I can definitely say the final bosses for this quest are going to be the stronger ones. My current level should be enough to handle them, but I wouldn't want to put you guys at risk." Akira said.

"Hey, don't count us out yet. We all made it to level 62 not long ago, you can't be that much stronger than us!" Nick said.

"Actually you'd be surprised."

"So, what are we gonna do? We also have to deal with Hayato and his regimen of DDA soldiers. I doubt they can even enter the temple, but I'm sure they'd wait there and ambush us." Aries added.

"No they can't...I haven't said specifically what the keys go to. Even if they did tail us, they wouldn't necessarily know. Besides even if they showed up, I made a promise to Gentiana that I would defeat the Princess." he said firmly.

"Let's not focus on that right now. We're all starving, and dinner is ready. We can make plans later." Aries said, carrying a steaming pot onto the table. She went back to the kitchen, bringing out two steaming trays of lasagna. Nick looked at the food, mouth watering.

"I think I'm in love." he said.

"Aw, that's sweet but I don't like you Nick." Aries said, earning a scowl from the boy. Akira had to admit, he had missed his friends a lot, more than he cared to admit.

Xxx

The final monster shattered into polygons, finally bringing the tally on their quest to the amount they needed. Akira sheathed his swords, closing the window that had popped up before him.

"I think that's that. You wanna head back to the guild and turn it in?" he asked, glancing at Rain.

"Um...maybe later...I was actually hoping we could log off. We've been playing all day and not spending time IRL." she said.

"Oh...yeah we can log off. Let's fly to the nearest town, I have to put my cutie pie niece to sleep." he said.

"Uncle please!" the small pixie cried, her face flushed red. He rolled his eyes, jumping into the air.

"Sorry sweetie, I just wanna hug you forever!" he exclaimed.

"So, we finally reached the climax of your Grand Quest. That means the exciting stuff is going to happen right?" Rain asked, earning a nod from Akira.

"Mhmm, we're up to the night of the sinking. Two hours and forty minutes to go." the boy said.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Rain asked, earning a chuckle from the boy. Yui looked at her, a firm look on her face.

"If I'm correct, that's a line from the 1997 movie Titanic. Though he got the last part wrong." the girl said.

"Heh, smart girl...I didn't think you liked movies."

"Daddy made me watch that one with Mommy. It wasn't age appropriate, but since I am a self learning Artificial Intelligence I have detailed files on everything. Including human reproduction. They however skipped those scenes to preserve my innocence."

"Wow okay um...I don't know how I should feel about that." the violet haired boy said.

"Let's just keep it to ourselves then." Rain added, earning a nod from him.

Once they had arrived in the nearest town, which happened to be in the Gnome territory. Akira and Rain rented an Inn for the night. Once in their room, Akira tucked Yui in and read her a bedtime story, even though she insisted he didn't. Once she had fallen asleep, the two teenagers logged out of the game.

Regaining consciousness, Akira sat up in his bed, setting his AmuSphere aside. He stretched his arms, glancing at the clock. It was still around 5:30, but in game the sun had already set.

"Well, that was fun." Akira muttered.

"I'll say...I'm so glad playing VR games is like taking a nap. I feel so rested now." Nijika said, stretching her arms. Akira looked away from her, his face flushing.

" _Jeez, any bigger and that bra is going to snap."_ he thought.

"So, now that we got all of that ALO stuff out of the way, what do you wanna do?" the girl asked, setting her headset aside.

"Let's for a walk." he said, giving her a smirk. Her eyes widened a bit, before she let out a giggle.

"Oh Akira, you're such a joker. I wouldn't mind going for a walk actually."

"Yeah, but it's close to dinner and mom would kill me if I left. Besides, you would be walking, I would be rolling." he said, a chuckle passing his lips. He glanced around the room, humming to himself.

"We can play another game...I got plenty of retro ones. Wanna speed run through Super Mario World?" he asked, glancing at the Super Famicom hooked up to his CRT TV.

"Okay, that sounds fun. I haven't played that game for such a long time...I'll set it up." she said, standing up from the computer chair. She walked over to his expansive collection, hunting down the cardtridge. Once she had it, she knelt down, grabbing the controllers. Akira bit his lip, glancing toward the window, seeing it was nearing sunset.

" _What the hell is wrong with me? I'm staring at her now...I'm giving her the same look I used to give Sasha. Oh god no..."_ he thought to himself.

He was pulled out his musings by the sound of the television turning on. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, allowing Rain to sit next to him, passing him the controller.

"Fair warning, I'm really good at this game...me and my sister...actually nevermind." she said.

"Huh, don't leave me hanging, I didn't know you had a sister." he said. She sighed, glancing at her feet.

"I do...and she's wonderful. She's a very bright child, managing to skip all through school, enough to even start college and get her doctorate." she said.

"How old is she?" Akira asked.

"Twelve, like I said she's the brightest mind of this generation. Her name is Nanairo." she replied. He tilted his head, mulling the name over. His eyes widened.

"No way, Nanairo...you mean the famous Doctor Rainbow is your sister?" he asked.

"Mhmm...you see, when she was growing up, she showed a lot of intellect, even for a girl her age. She was doing high school level work in third grade. My father wanted her to become a researcher, and use her intelligence to her benefit. My mother however thought that she deserved a calm and quiet life. They didn't agree so they got divorced. We moved here from Russia, while Nanairo and my father left for America." she said.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Have you even spoken to her since then?"

"No, she was too young to remember me. I have spoken to my father, he flew in while I was in Sword Art Online, but over all he hasn't shown an ounce of compassion for me. However, I heard rumors drifting through Aincrad that there was another patch being added to Alfheim Online, which would add another area to explore. It would give Yvir time to work and release the next few floors of Aincrad." she said.

"Oh right, Patch 3.1.0. Sapphira told me that Yvir had come up with a new area called Svart Alfheim, which was currently being Beta tested." he said. He glanced over at his friend who was still diving. He had the urge to draw on her face.

"I heard she was going to be diving into that game from my mother. I figured I would get all of the stuff and start an ALO account. Thankfully I was able to transfer all of my SAO data over so I could start the game. I was in the process of leveling up when I heard rumors of you being in Aincrad, I've wanted to meet you for a long time, so I couldn't let the chance pass me by." she said.

"Why would you want to meet me? I'm no one special." he said. She shook her head, brushing aside some of her hair.

"But you are special, you're special to me, to Sapphira and all of your friends. Without you, they wouldn't be the same! You've got courage, and bravery. You are a hero, and saved so many lives from that horrible experience. I hate when you say you aren't anyone special, because to me, you are special." she said firmly.

Akira was taken aback, he wasn't expecting her to be so adamant about it. He was just an average Joe, not that different from any other boy his age, aside from his condition. But what Nijika said was true...he was a hero, even if he had his ups and downs. He didn't just give up before he began, he tackled Aincrad and saw everything it had to afford, and then some. He smiled, taking a hold of her hand, earning a soft gasp from her.

"Thank you Nijika, it means so much to me that you think that." he said.

"Um...Akira...I..let's play the game. I think Mario is getting tired of running around." she said, glancing at the screen. He chuckled, grabbing a hold of his controller.

"You better watch out Nijika, I'm going to get all of the points I can." he said.

"I'd like to see you try!" she cried out, a grin on her face.


	17. Aincrad Arc: Fated Lovers

**A/N: I wasn't going too...but fuck it, I think I will.**

 **This is chapter seventeen, and that means this is a double post! I will most likely not post anything for awhile since I will be working on Pokemon for now. But I have written through Chapter 24 for I will keep posting what I got, remember to like, favorite and review the story, it keeps me motivated! Have a good night, stay frosty!**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 17

Fated Lovers

It had been a few days since Akira and Rain had met up in the real world. It had been a bit awkward after that. Rain was a sweet girl, but he didn't quite understand most of her actions. Sapphira had woken up while they were playing Mario World and had left extremely annoyed and quite jealous, though she wouldn't admit it. After that, it had gotten a bit stressful. Rain looked like she wanted to say something, but got too flustered to even say it. She had left shortly after Sapphira, saying she had errands to run with her mother. They hadn't talked since.

Akira himself had been quite busy. He was actually going out more, and spending time with his sister, both in ALO and in the real world. She was still a noob, and Akira loved laughing at her misfortune, but Alisha was just happy her brother was his old self again.

Akira had also spent quite a lot of money on brand new clothes. His sister kept teasing him, saying he wanted to impress Rain, while he just said he wanted new stuff for when he was out of the hospital. His father was just excited that his son was finally interested in dating again, even if he didn't exactly say it himself.

Now however, he was heading to the hospital, bright and early. It was the day of his surgery, and his doctor wanted to meet up with his parents. He was dressed in a tee shirt, and some long blue jeans, with his brand new sneakers. His sister was listening to music behind them while his mother was busy driving. His father had sadly left for another business trip, promising to spend time with him when he returned.

"So Noah, are you happy about finally having this surgery?" his mother asked. He nodded, giving her a smile.

"Sure am mom. I'm quite interested to see how these nanobots work. I was told I could walk right after they were done the repair work." he said.

"Well you can, but you'll need to go to rehab. Remember the time you came out of SAO, you needed time to recover the use of your arms." she said.

"Yeah, and that shit sucked." he said. She glared at him, but said nothing as the light turned green.

"Yes, but it won't be long until you can move on your own. You'll be able to walk and run again, and run errands for me."

"Right, because if anything I want the use of my legs so I can pick up milk at the store." he deadpanned, earning a giggle from the woman.

"Oh come on sweetie, it's 2025. You need to live in the now, instead of in 2022." she said.

"I know, it'll be hard, but I really do want to see what changed while I was in a coma." he said. While he did enjoy his time in SAO, he also didn't want to think about what happened on the outside.

His thoughts flashed back to the day he had woken up. When his eyes opened for the first time in two years, he could barely see. The florescent lights were the most annoying thing in the room at the moment. He had forced himself to sit up, arms shaking as he grabbed his Nerve Gear. He was just glad the thing was off. He looked at his hands, seeing a bit of muscle loss had happened while he was gone. He had also noticed all of the pouches and tubes hooked into his body.

He looked really gross in his opinion, but it had all be necessary to stop his brain from turning into a microwave dinner. He shivered a bit, not wanting to remember that time.

"What's wrong Noah? You've been strangely silent."

"It's nothing...just...the last time I was in a hospital was when I was stuck in SAO. I was just remembering the day I woke up. How utterly dead my body looked. It must have been hard for the others who were in low end hospitals." he said.

"Yes, but at least the government compensated all of the victims and even formed that school just for SAO survivors. Everyone recovered just fine, though some people don't even want to touch an AmuSphere again." Alice said.

"I don't blame them, honestly...I don't blame SAO or the creators for it all. I don't even blame Kayaba for it either, not anymore. We made it out, and that's all that matters. I'll never forgive him for all of the lives that were lost though." he replied.

"Which reminds me, we should visit Samantha's grave soon. You haven't gone since you woke up."

"Right...I forgot. Honestly I just didn't feel like going, I was depressed for a long time. But, Rain was able to make me see the light again. I remember playing ALO for awhile and not even having fun, but ever since we met, I dunno...it feels like SAO all over again, minus the death of course."

"That girl really changed your life that much huh? I'm so grateful to her...you better not break her heart. She cares deeply for you."

"I know...I'm just...not sure if I can handle another relationship right now. I still love Sasha." he said, glancing out the window.

"Son, I understand. Honestly I do...but you can't let what could have been keep you from being happy. Samantha wouldn't want you to be miserable forever. Give this girl a chance, she's so in love with you it's hurting her every time she stops herself from saying it. Just keep it in your pants."

"Christ mom, jeez...let's just get this over with." he cried out, face flushed red. They came to a stop, and Alisha took off her headphones, catching her brothers flushed look.

"What did I miss?"

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Akira had been checked in and taken to General Surgery. There he met up with the head surgeon who would be his personal doctor.

He was a young man, most likely in his early thirties. He had straight black hair, carefully brushed back. He wore a thin framed pair of glasses on his face, his eyes being a light brown in color. He was wearing a light blue shirt with a black tie. His black slacks were held up by a leather belt, and he wore polished leather shoes. He was wearing a white doctor's coat over it all, with his name stitched to it. The man smiled, holding his hand out.

"It's nice to see you again Noah, or would you rather I call you Akira?" the man asked.

"Akira is fine, I'm more used to that name now. It's nice to see you again Doctor Shimizu." he said, giving the man a smile.

"Alright, so you'll be going in for your spinal repair surgery. You also get to be the first test subject for the new line of medical nanobots. Don't worry they have been tested on humans before and are completely safe. They have been programmed to handle this procedure so we don't have to intrude within the body." the man said.

"How exactly does this work?" Akira asked curiously.

"It's rather fascinating. Instead of being sedated, you will be placed in the Medicuboid, a FullDive machine that will basically put you in a coma. While you're playing a game or doing whatever else you want, the nanobots will be busy repairing your damaged nerves. The nanobots not only repair the nerves, but will also replace damaged cells until new ones grow in. After that they will dissolve into the blood stream." the man said.

"Interesting, so after three days I'll be able to walk again?" Akira asked.

"Indeed you will. If this proves successful, then we'll be able to use these nanobots to do all sorts of healing procedures, without intrusive surgery." Dr. Shimizu said, a smile on his face.

"And if it fails?" Alice asked, earning a frown from her son.

"Not to worry, we're prepared to handle the surgery manually if it does fail. But right now we have no reason to suspect failure. Anyway, we will take all of your vitals and get you ready for the procedure."

"Alright, I guess I'll see you both in three days, unless you dive into ALO." Akira said.

"I might later, you promised we would do some quests." Alisha said.

"I'm too busy to play this week. I got mom stuff to do, you kids have fun though...the next time we see each other, you'll be on your own two feet. I can't wait!" the woman said, hugging Akira tightly. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you mom...I missed you so much when I was in SAO, and I don't think I've ever shown just how much you mean to me." he said.

"Stop, you'll make me cry." the woman said, tightening her hold on the boy.

After a while, the woman released the boy. Akira bid farewell to his sister and was wheeled away by the nurses. It wasn't long after he was done with all of the pre-surgery checks that he was taken into another large room.

"Well Akira, this is the Medicuboid, the first FullDive device for use in hospitals. This machine is used for long periods of diving, it's used mostly for terminally ill patients." the nurse said, earning a nod from the boy.

It looked almost like an MRI machine, only it was way bigger an bulkier than that. There were various lights blinking and flashing on it. There were also several monitors hooked to it, most likely to monitor his heart rate and various other things. He was helped onto the plush bed and was helped into a gown. Once done, he lay back on the bed, glancing at the ceiling. One of the nurses wheeled in a bag of IV fluid, along with all of the tubes.

"Don't worry Akira, we'll take care of all of this once your inside the machine. Don't worry, it's been loaded with various games, including the most popular MMOs. ALO seems to be popular with the kids here though."

"It is rather fun, the feeling of flying never really goes away." he said.

"Yes, my little sister got me into playing it. Jumping off ledges is really fun, and it's helped me out with my diet, I've lost ten pounds thanks to the game." the woman said happily. One of the other nurses rolled her eyes, walking to the other side of the machine. She pressed a few buttons and it whirled to life, beeping a few times. She lowered the headpiece onto Akira's head, giving him a nod.

"Well, see you ladies later. Hopefully when I can walk again, you'll let me take you to dinner." he said jokingly, earning giggles from both women. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, it wasn't long before he had faded from the real world.

 _(April 30_ _th_ _2025: Location: Town of Beginnings Floor 1)_

Akira blinked a few times as he woke up inside his rented room. He was glad Yvir had actually recoded the inns on the bottom floors so they didn't look like crap anymore. He yawned and stretched, as if his avatar would actually get tired. He walked toward the door and left the room, equipping his swords. Once he was downstairs, he grabbed a muffin from the food table and walked outside, once again greeted by the shining sun of Aincrad.

"Well Aincrad, I'm back. Sadly it won't be like last time." he said, smiling inwardly.

Taking a bite from his muffin, Akira left the inn and started walking toward the teleporter. Sapphira had told him earlier that morning that Floor 2 had been opened up for clearing, so he was going to get a jump on everyone and reclaim his Nightfall Blade. Of course he was sure all of the enemies were stronger than before, but he wanted to get his strongest weapon for the early floors back. He stepped onto it, instantly teleporting to Urubus.

Looking around the rocky town, he remembered everything that had happened there. He walked away from the teleporter, passing by the spot where he and Ralph had fought all of those years ago. December 13th 2022 would forever be engraved into his mind. He shook his head, and took another bite from his muffin. As he was leaving town however, he felt someone watching him and stopped in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder.

"If you're gonna follow me, would you at least tell me why?" he called out. The person walked out from behind the building, surprising him a bit.

"Sorry, I thought it would be a good time to raise my Hiding and Sneaking skills."

"Rain, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to school today?" he said.

"I asked for a few days off. I don't have to work either, besides I wanted to keep you company while your full diving for your surgery." she said, blushing a bit.

"That's thoughtful of you. But you shouldn't sneak up on people like that, especially those who have high listening skills. I'm heading off to map the Forever Fall Forest, wanna tag along?" he asked.

"Sure, I don't mind." she said, sending him the party invite. He hesitated a bit before hitting accept. Her HP bar joined his at the top of his HUD. She decided to take the lead, looking around the rocky field.

"I didn't really take a good look at this place the first time we were here. By the time I actually started my journey, the clearing team was already on the 7th Floor." she said.

"Yeah, that was a tough floor too...fuck me...I totally forgot!" he cried out, causing her to give him an odd look.

"What's wrong? Did you forget to do something IRL? That'll be hard considering your situation." Rain said, sounding a bit concerned.

"No no, it's about the 7th Floor. Do you remember what it had that attracted attention to it?" he asked.

"Um...if I recall correctly, it was cleared the day it was found because all it had was a...a battle arena. Hey, our quest requires us to visit this battle arena. If we can clear the 7th Floor, we'll be able to continue our quest." Rain said, a grin on her face.

"Except we're on the 2nd Floor. We have some pretty hard bosses to face after this, considering the guys at Yvir said they were changing the bosses on certain floors. We won't know what we'll face. I'm not even sure if Asterius will be the boss of this floor." he said, crossing his arms.

"I guess we really can't get that sword. No matter, you'll be able to win anyway. We'll train hard and level up, make you a really beefy avatar. Then you can use Thousand Sword Rain and whoop his ass!" she said.

"Yeah, who needs some dumb old legendary sword? I can do it with my own skill!" he said, a grin on his face.

"Then let's go, there's a field of monsters waiting for us." she said, earning a nod from him.

"Before we go, I got something I need to get off my chest. I've been thinking this over for a while actually." he said.

"What's up? Is something wrong?" she asked, a worried look on her face.

"No no, nothing is wrong. I've...been thinking about Sasha a lot recently. Actually, she hasn't left my mind, not since I started telling you my story. I also know that she would be pissed if I didn't say this." he said, chuckling a bit. He glanced up at Rain, who was still looking at him oddly.

"I didn't know Sasha personally, but if she would get mad at you for this, then it has to be important. I...sort of have something important to say too." she said, rubbing her arm.

"Alright, you can go first if you want."

"Huh...me? No no, you brought it up first, so you can go." she said.

"If you're sure. Well here goes, Rain...no...Nijika, I've noticed...how close you've become over the last few days. You're body language is apparent, and I can tell you have feelings for me. I guess what I'm trying to see is...I feel the same?" he said, though it sounded like a question.

"What?" she cried, though it sounded above a whisper.

"I have feelings for you Nijika. It's a little hard for me to describe but...in the short time we've known each other, you've brought me out of the shell I made for myself. I was depressed for a long time, even if I hid it. I couldn't fool myself, but you came along and got me to talk. You took the time out of your day to hang out with a person who can't even walk. That made me feel unbelievably happy." he said.

"Of course I would...I could tell you were in pain. There was nothing in my mind other than helping you. I wanted to get to know you, but I didn't want you to know I was in SAO. So I lied to you, and for that I'm sorry." she said, feeling really disappointed in herself. Akira closed the distance between them, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. Like I said before, Sword Art Online isn't a topic anyone can talk about freely. You told me the truth and that's what mattered in the end. I can't really thank you though, you helped me so much. I can tell you really like me, I mean you approached me after all. So It would be heartless of me to not even give you a chance, besides I've grown fond of you too." he said.

"Oh Akira, you don't know how much that means to me. I've been in love with you for such a long time. You were always so sad, you were alone, viewed as monster by everyone. Even when you redeemed yourself, SAO just stabbed you in the back. I should have approached you in SAO, but I didn't and for that I'm sorry." she said. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"I have another question for you. You were the one who defeated White Fang right? And you were the one who tipped off Sapphira and the others, told them I was on the 29th Floor right?" he asked. She stiffened a bit, giving him a bit of confirmation.

"You saved my life twice, maybe even more times. You said you've been in love with me for a long time, did you follow me all throughout Aincrad?" he asked.

"How did you guess?" she asked curiously, looking into his eyes.

"It wasn't hard to guess. Honestly, I suspected it from the beginning. But what you did now confirmed it for me. Plus I compared your body shape to the one I saw inside the labyrinths on the 34th Floor." he said.

"Wait, you saw me? Why didn't you say anything?" she asked, slapping his arm a bit. He chuckled.

"I didn't want you to know that I knew. It would have kept that air of mystery behind my follower. Honestly, you could have just talked to me, I don't deny cute girls. Anyway, now that I've actually told you this, would you...be my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Huh? You're skipping right to that? Don't you want to take me to dinner first?" she asked, giggling a bit. He shrugged.

"Hey, we're young. We got plenty of time to waste in some restaurant in Akihabara. Besides, I can tell you're about to explode with excitement, so I just hurried it along." he said. She hugged him again, making him stumble back.

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend! I've been waiting for so long to hear that, I'm so happy!" she said.

"Hehe, let's keep exploring the forest. Maybe after we're done we can head back to Alfheim and go on a proper date." he said.

"O-okay...but I want to hold your hand." she said.

"Sure, how about I tell you the end of that quest? It'll be awhile until we reach the forest anyway." he said, taking a hold of her hand. She smiled, giving him a happy nod.

"I would love to hear this story...even though I know what happens." she said, giving him a wink.

"Well, it starts on the 19th of December."

xxx

 _(December 19_ _th_ _2023: Location: Algade Floor 50: 8:34AM)_

Akira and his friends were sitting inside Agil's new shop. The man had been buying and selling weapons on the 35th Floor for awhile, but had finally saved up enough funds to move up to the front lines. Looking around, Akira could see a lot of mid level items hanging on the walls, lances, shields, daggers and armor, basically anything that low leveled players didn't need anymore would be on display here. Agil was also a good person to go to for half priced healing items. Since he didn't battle a lot on the front lines, he sold any of his extra consumables a bit lower than at a shop.

"Thanks a lot for helping me fellas, it means a lot." the man himself said, walking into the store with another box. He was a tall man, being around six foot three in height. He had dark brown skin and bright hazel colored eyes. His head was completely shaved. He was wearing some plain looking garments, a long sleeved shirt, with a gray apron over it. He was also wearing a pair of khaki pants and brown boots.

"Hey, it's no problem at all. We're in the same trade after all, we train the intermediate players and we bring you back the stuff they don't want. We both win that way." Sapphira said, setting another box on the counter top. It had been the last one they had brought from Agil's storage near the teleport gate.

"Besides, no one is actually stupid enough to buy stuff from you. You'd rip them off." Nick said, earning a chuckle from the tall man.

"If there's anything I know about these fools, it's that they're willing to buy anything." the man replied.

"You best not be caught saying that, unless you want a horde of pissed off players kicking your door in." Akira said, a smirk on his face.

"Anyway, we're here to drop off some of the old gear we collected from the players we trained this week. We're hoping to save up and move up to Algade as well." Sapphira said, opening her trade menu, she dropped in several pieces of armor, sending it to the store owner.

"Well lookie here, this is some very high grade stuff. Enough for thirteen intermediate players, and it's all good quality. I'll give ya 2 million for it all." he said.

"That's fair...pleasure doing business with you Agil." Sapphira said, accepting her payment with a smile on her face.

"Hey, I think it's time we should get going. It won't be long before we're found out again." Morrison said.

"Found out, by whom exactly?" Agil asked curiously.

"Ugh...this guy named Hayato. He found out I'm in the middle of a Grand Quest and wants all of the items to himself. We've kept the final location to ourselves, but that doesn't stop them from pissing us off. They blocked our access to the teleporter this morning." Akira said.

"And they were waiting for us at the town exits too. Thankfully we had enough teleport crystals to ditch them, but we put a dent into our supply." Sapphira continued, growing rather annoyed the more she spoke.

"It won't be long until they find us here. Mademoiselle Sapphira is right, we should leave right away." Morrison said.

"Don't worry Agil, I'll be here to sell my old stuff after this quest is over." Akira said, giving the man a smirk.

"I'll be here, to think SAO has a Grand Quest, you are one lucky man." he replied, watching the five leave his shop.

"Okay, Sapphira did you get all of the crystals?" Akira asked curiously.

"Mhmm, I got enough for all of us to have three recovery crystals, four healing crystals and a lot of super healing potions. Added to the ones you were able to brew, it brings us to a great amount of healing items." she said.

"I was able to trade in our old equipment and get new ones from the shops on this floor. I already sent them all to their respective owners." Aries said, a smile on her face.

"I also got our armor optimized with the newest stuff from the 49th and 50th floors. I also passed them along to their corresponding users." Nick said.

"Perfect then, we're all ready for this. Well...I wish Gentiana was here, this was her quest just as much as it was mine." Akira said. Nick smirked, elbowing the young man.

"Could it be that Akira was in love with that NPC?"

"Pfft, me in love with an NPC? As if, that's not it. She made it feel so personal, I just wanted her to be here. But those DDA bastards just had to interrupt." he said firmly.

"It's a shame, I didn't think NPCs had perma-death in their code." Sapphira added. Akira shook it off.

"It's alright, I'm going to complete it for her sake. So let's give it our all!" he said happily, just as they all stepped onto the Teleporter.

"Right, we'll beat both of those bitches!" Sapphira cried out, attracting the attention of the nearest players. Most assumed they were going on a monster hunt, but there were others who knew exactly where they were going.

"Teleport: Algade Temple." Akira said softly, as to not attract attention. The group of five instantly disappeared, reappearing on the floor above them.

Looking around, there was nothing particular interesting near the teleport gate. However, the top of the nearby temple could be seen just over the hill. Snow covered the entire area, and the wind was blowing a bit, carrying bits of snow and ice in all directions. It didn't look anyone was around. Akira had actually heard news about the clearing team taking a break for the holidays, so he doubted anyone would be wondering around, unless they were solo players.

Akira stepped off the teleporter, hugging his coat closely against himself. He took the lead, trudging through the snow leading his friends toward the temple. The wind suddenly changed, becoming a biting gale that threatened to knock them over.

"Jeez, you can definitely tell this bitch is the Ice Princess. I swear to Christ if it's Elsa, I'm going to be really pissed." Nick said firmly.

"As if Kayaba would code that into this game. I would punch him right in his throat if he did." Sapphira snapped, causing the others to break into chuckles.

As they walked, they noticed the snow and wind had picked up even more, their cloaks fluttering wildly behind them. Akira held his hood tightly to prevent it from flying off.

It wasn't long before they reached the temple path. The wind had lessened a bit, but only because of the large ice pillars rising from the ground. The snowed path ended up clearing up a bit, showing them the ice trail leading up to the temple. The building itself rose high above the ground, and seemed to be covered in crystalline ice forming large spires from the towers. There was a beautiful stairwell of ice towering up toward the large icy doors. The temple didn't resemble a temple anymore, it was more akin to a palace of ice.

The team of five stood there, staring at the Ice Palace. The doors had been firmly shut, four distinct keyholes being visible from where they stood. Akira took a deep breath, glancing at his hand. All six petals had appeared on the flower, meaning the princess had already showed up.

"This is it you guys, once we pass through those doors, we likely won't be coming out for awhile. Are you all ready?" he asked, earning nods from his friends.

"Course, we were born ready. Let's show this princess our stuff!" Nick said firmly, a smile on his face. Akira took a step forward, only for something to whiz by his ear. His eyes widened when he saw it was an arrow. He quickly turned around, drawing his dagger from his pocket.

"That's quite far enough!" a booming voice said, causing them all to draw their weapons.

Several armored Orcs walked forward, holding weapons of varying shapes and sizes. In the center of them was a tall imposing figure. It was a woman, with lightly tanned skin. Her brown locks were done up in corn rows, which were quite long. She was wearing an icy blue dress, which kept her arms bare. She was wearing a steel chest plate, along with armored vembraces. The skirt part of the dress was also an icy blue color, underneath she was wearing steel colored greaves. Strapped to her waist was what looked like a Crossbow. Akira hissed, tightening his grip on his weapon.

"You must be Calypso, the woman who wants the Princess's power for herself?" he asked.

"You insolent fool? So you believed what that woman was saying? You should know the truth. There is no ice princess, only a scorned spirit who rages on without a body. I have come here for its power." the woman said.

"What are you talking about? The princess is reborn every 4,000 years and she needs to be stopped. Everyone will die!" Akira said. The woman chuckled, shaking her head.

"There is no princess. That woman that was killed, Gentiana was it? She was lying too you. The Princess was killed by her lover, and in her rage she turned her soul into power. Magic is no longer a resource in this world, but powerful beings with magic still exist. I must take that power for myself, so I can get revenge on the ones who wronged me!" the woman said firmly.

"Gentiana wouldn't lie to me, you're the one that's lying, and if you take another step, we will kill you!" Akira snapped back. Calypso shook her head, snapping her fingers.

"Men, ready your weapons, take down this retch and his friends. If you know what's best for you, hand over your keys, right this second." Calypso said, making Akira growl in anger.

"I would do as she says Akira, unless you want us to kill you instead." another voice added. Behind the Orcs, several more armored men showed up, players. Hayato moved his way to the front, a Katana in his hands.

"So, you took this moment to show up? No matter, we aren't letting you get in that temple. You'll have to kill us first!" Sapphira snapped.

"Don't, we've already lost Sasha, I can't lose you too. This is just some stupid quest, and we're out numbered. We can't take any chances!" Akira said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Akira, you've worked hard for this. You got a nifty new skill, you've invested your time and effort into this. Sasha wouldn't quit, and neither would Gentiana. She wanted you to become the hero of legend, and you are going to be that hero. We'll be fine, you go on up!" the girl said.

"Yeah, we'll hold them off." Nick said, gripping his sword tightly. Aries grabbed a hold of her mace, slamming it against her shield as a taunt, while Morrison drew his sword, standing in his fencers stance.

"I can't leave you all here to fight them. I don't want you to die here!" Akira said firmly.

"I said go, don't make me force you!" Sapphira said firmly.

"Besides, who said we're fighting alone?" Nick said, giving a shrill whistle. From the nearby trees, several people jumped out, landing in front of the Orc's and the DDA. Akira recognized a few of them as the people they had helped level up. He heard a familiar cry, and saw a feathered dragon among the crowd. His eyes widened in shock.

"Pina, is that you?" he called out, holding his arm out for the dragon to land on.

"Don't worry Akira-san, we've got this. The DDA won't be able to kill other players and if they do then it's on them. We'll be just fine!" Silica said, though the shaking in her voice betrayed her actions. Akira nodded, giving her a firm look.

"Alright, then take care of this...and sorry." he said. Pina took off his arm as he spun around, racing up the icy stairs.

"Kill them all, I got the boy. Don't let me down!" Calypso cried out, dashing past the wall of players in front of her. Some tried to attack her, but she was just too fast for them to land a hit on.

Akira made it to the top of the stairs, and took out the four keys he had gathered. He placed all four of them into the appropriate keyholes, all of them turning on their own. A large ice blue seal formed in front of the door, as each piece of it slid away, allowing him entree. As he was taking his first steps in, Calypso rushed in front of him, blocking his way forward. She aimed her Crossbow at him, a smirk on her face.

"You aren't getting past me!"

"We'll see about that!" he cried, dashing forward.

The doors closed behind him, the last bits of light aiding him in his strike. He threw some slashes at the woman, using his Night Vision ability to see where she was. He didn't see an HP bar, so he knew attacking her would be useless. He grabbed the woman by the coat and pinned her to the wall, stabbing her hand. She cried in pain, letting her weapon fall to the floor.

"Calypso, you will not get the princess's power. I will not let that happen." he said, placing his blade at her neck.

"Tell me, did Gentiana tell you some crack pot story, about how I was supposedly some goddess in human form? Because that's a lie. I am a normal human being, just like you."

"What?" he asked, eyes narrowed in anger.

"That's right boy. I don't have any power, I'm just a regular human being. Gentiana was a good liar, convincing you that you were a hero. That mark on your hand, it means absolutely nothing. It isn't a magic mark given to you by some princess. It's an elaborate illusion created by a well known illusionist." she said.

"There's no way...she wouldn't lie to me." he said firmly.

"But she did, the fact that you find yourself here, it's because she had a reason. She sought you out, because her husband's soul still lives. She wanted to kill you, so his soul could inhabit your body. But I'm here to put an end to this. If you let me go, I can take the Princess's power, find her soul and destroy it forever." she said firmly.

" _This doesn't make any sense. Gentiana wouldn't lie to me, she was honest. I could see in her eyes. She was honest about everything, and if that's true...then Calypso is trying to deceive me. I need to stop getting to heavily involved in the story."_

"I'm sorry Calypso, but I'm not letting you go. I'm going to kill you right here!" he said, holding his dagger above her head. The woman smirked.

"You insolent fool!" she shouted, releasing a wave of water from her hands. Akira slammed into the back wall, his weapon clattering to the ground.

"I knew I couldn't fool you, but I can't kill you either. Sadly, by the time you get up you won't be able to stop me!"

Akira glanced at his HP bar, seeing a Paralyzed status. He also saw a Bleed status as well, and his HP was slowly going down. The woman laughed as she walked forward, heading toward the arena.

"Foolish humans, thinking they can dictate what a goddess can do. No matter, I will destroy you. Saint Shiva's power will be mine!" the woman said, howling in laughter as she walked off. It wasn't long before she disappeared entirely, a pair of double doors closing behind her.

"Damn it, I let her get the best of me...now I have to wait until this wares off." he muttered, glaring at the wall.

He couldn't move a single muscle. He glanced at his HUD, keeping an eye on his team's HP bars. They were all at safe levels, but he didn't know how the others were doing outside. He figured after the doors closed, the temple became inaccessible for anyone else. He sighed, closing his eyes.

He suddenly felt a gold gust of wind hitting him, a bit of snow drifting around him. He heard a giggle in his ear, just as the snow was swirling around his body. He glanced at his HP seeing the paralysis status had disappeared. He rapidly stood up, grabbing his dagger from the ground. He felt the wind pushing him toward the arena, as if it wanted him to go there. He stood at the doors, nodding firmly to himself. He switched his weapons, trading his dagger for his sword, knowing he would need the powerful skills more than his speedy ones.

He walked through the doors, which slowly started to open for him. His cloak billowed in the wind, a cold rush of wind hitting his already numb skin. At that moment, he didn't even feel the cold. He just wanted to defeat Calypso. He didn't know why he had gotten so invested in the Grand Quest, knowing all of it was part of a game, but he felt anger. He was pissed that Gentiana was called a liar. He continued walking forward, laying eyes on the arena for the first time.

It was a round battlefield covered entirely in ice. Deep markings were etched into the ground, along with the markings of various stones. They were most likely used to create the floor, though it was covered in thick ice. The seats around them were devoid of people, thick spires rose around the seats, towering high into the sky. They were also made of ice. There was another stairwell at the other end of the field, two large flaming torches could be seen, glowing with icy blue fire. The sky above them was completely clear of clouds, not a single snowflake was visible. In fact, the round disc of the glowing moon could be seen in its entirety. In the center of the battlefield was Calypso, who seemed to be kneeling.

"You should never have come here warrior of light. I want nothing more than revenge for the ones who wronged me. The one who sealed me away in this body, and broke my heart. A revenge you would deny me out of ignorance and blind faith." the woman said, standing up to face him. The wind had kicked up again, sending snow and ice floating in all directions.

"Revenge won't solve anything. If the revenge you want causes the death of others, then I've got to do everything in my power to stop you!" Akira said firmly. He was trying his hardest to ignore the games battle music as the battle was unfolding. The woman smirked, shaking her head.

"No matter, if it's our fate to be at ends, then it's my fate to strike you down." she said, her body started glowing. Tendrils of energy drifted out of her chest, surrounding her. Another gust of wind whipped around them, and Akira shielded his face, holding his hood tightly in his grasp.

Calypso rose her hands into the air, the energy swirling around her. Akira felt a heavy presence around the area, and he swallowed hard, clenching the hilt of his sword tightly.

"We who gods and men have forsaken, shall be the instrument of our own deliverance! Partake in my flesh, fill this vessel with your light. Walk among your brethren once more. O Saint Shiva, still the hatred within our hearts, take revenge on the ones who wronged us, divine love eternal!" the woman chanted. Ice formed around her feet, forming a sort of chrysalis around her body.

Ice and snow started swirling around the cocoon, large clouds formed around the top of the arena. A large orb of icy light drifted down from the moon, morphing into a powerful bolt of energy that struck the ice. It exploded outward, a bright blinding flash of light filling the area. Akira opened his eyes, seeing all of the chunks of ice drifting around him.

Calypso was no longer around, instead another woman had taken her place. She was taller, with pale icy white skin and long whitish blue hair. She was wearing a rather revealing outfit, only covering her modesty. She wore long blue gloves and matching heeled boots. A large crown of ice formed atop her head, all of the spikes becoming sharp. A long cape was wrapped around her neck, each tail flowed behind her being held up by the icy wind. She floated down, a smirk on her face.

Nine HP bars appeared around her, the cursor shifting from a light pink to a dark black color. Her name finally appeared atop her head, taking Akira aback.

"The Frost Queen, Saint Shiva." he said.

The woman howled with laughter sending a wave of ice at the boy. He held his ground, his cloak being shredded off his body. He was left in nothing more than his normal armor, his weakened cloak breaking away into polygons. He grabbed a hold of his sword, slowly drawing it from its scabbard. The flower mark on his hand was glowing brightly, swirling with ice magic.

"Those who dare threaten our way of life shall die by my sword." he said firmly, breaking into a sprint.

He aimed his sword forward, the glow of his sword skill filling the area as he struck the icy woman. She hissed in pain, but quickly recovered, driving her leg into his chest, sending him flying back. He glanced at his HP bar, seeing it had dropped to yellow from that one attack. He pulled out a potion and chugged it down, running at Shiva again.

"You dare stop me from getting revenge? You will not see the light of day again!" she shouted, raising her hands into the air. Hundreds of ice shards flew at him, but he easily sliced through them. He growled in anger and threw a heavy slash at the woman, leaving a decent gash on her skin.

Strike after strike and skill after skill, Akira couldn't succeed in lowering her HP. Even after ten minutes, the best he had done was lower the first bar three quarters full. She still have eight full bars to go. He grit his teeth, chugging down another potion, tossing the bottle aside.

"Bow down to my strength. You shall not take another breath!" the woman howled, sending another icy wave at him. Akira was blown back, slamming into the ground.

" _Damn it, I can't win like this. This is suicide...if my friends were here, then maybe I could have a chance but."_

He pulled out a Recovery Crystal, his frostbitten limbs instantly recovering. His Health rose from the red back into the green, filling his bar entirely. He stood up, glaring at the icy woman as she continued pumping out magic spell after magic spell. He grit his teeth, shivering from the blistering cold.

" _What do I do?"_

" _Use your power, the mark of the hero was bestowed upon you by the princess. It will be the key to her defeat!"_

"Gentiana?" he muttered, glancing around the field. He thought he heard the woman, but he shook it off, glancing at his mark. He nodded to himself, focusing on the mark.

"Princess of Ice, you've marked me as your hero and gifted me your power. Please, allow me its strength to defeat this shrewd of a woman looking for revenge! I beg of you!" he cried out.

The mark literally exploded, a cold wave of ice swirling around him. His armor got coated in a thick coat of ice, but it didn't restrict his movement at all. His sword was also coated in it, becoming sharper than before. He glanced up at Shiva, seeing her cursor had changed from black to red. He smirked.

"Now it's a fair fight." he said, running forward.

"You dare use her power against me? I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!"

Meanwhile, at the foot of the stairs, Sapphira and the mid level players had successfully driven back the DDA, all of them having retreated. Hayato grit his teeth in anger, dropping his sword to the ground. The area shook with power, forcing everyone to glance at the top of the temple, seeing the swirling clouds.

"That bastard, he's going to get all of that awesome armor. While the rest of us have to bullshit our way through this fucking game!" Hayato shouted.

"Shut up, Akira worked hard for this quest. Besides he was the one who was chosen, and he was the one who bothered to complete it. None of you deserve that armor or weapons. None of you were worthy...that's why the Cardinal System didn't pick you." Sapphira cried, aiming her sword at Hayato's neck.

"Watch it broad, if you come any closer, I could die. You wouldn't want my death to be on your hands do you?"

"On the contrary, I think I would be doing all of us a favor. A scum bag like you doesn't deserve to live. Using your dead relative as a way to get money and armor for yourself, stopping Argo from gaining information that would benefit all of us, stealing from low leveled players while their asleep? You make me sick!" She shouted.

"Sapphira-san please, don't kill him. He doesn't deserve to die, he deserves to go to prison." Silica said, Pina crying her agreement.

"Yes, yes he does. Some of my friends had their shit stolen by this asshole. He should give us all of the money he has." one player said. All of them chorused their approval.

"You heard them, give us your money. And you behind the trees, if you want to assist him, then don't, because we're going to destroy you too." she said, glancing up at the trees. Rather then an armored person, all they saw was a hooded figure. They tossed a large crystal on the ice, sliding it over to Sapphira and the others. They turned around, walking away.

"It's programmed to take anyone to the Black Iron Palace. Make sure he gets out of there safe okay?" they said. Sapphira grabbed the crystal about to ask who the person was, but they had already disappeared.

Another rumble filled the area and everyone looked up at the stadium, seeing thick plumes of ice and snow showering the arena. It looked more like a swirling snow storm. Sapphira grit her teeth, taking a deep breath.

"Akira, you better not die in there."

The boy panted a bit, having lowered Shiva's health down to five HP bars. He was getting worn out from all of the fighting. He was down to below half of his healing items and he had used his second recovery crystal. He glared at Shiva, shaking a bit. The woman had just used her signature spell, Diamond Dust, to cause massive damage. He had gotten rather close to dying. Thankfully he had stepped out of range, but it still did quite a bit of damage.

" _Damn you Kayaba...not only do you rip off movies, but now other games too. You won't get away with this."_ he thought to himself. Shiva chuckled, taking a few steps forward.

"Are you giving up boy? If you join me, I'll make sure you become the hero of legend." she said.

"Fuck you." Akira spat, clutching his sword tightly.

"How uncouth. No matter, your life ends here!" she said, holding her arms above her head. She was preparing another Diamond Dust. Akira bit his lip, knowing he wouldn't survive that attack. He rose his sword up, hoping to use it as a makeshift shield. He closed his eyes, waiting for the spell to hit.

But that's when he noticed it, the doors had opened bringing both of their attention to it. Akira almost dropped his sword as he saw the one who had walked in. Shiva took a step back, her spell disappearing.

"No, you're dead. My minions confirmed this, how are you alive?" the woman shouted.

"Let's just say, that was an elaborate ruse. I was just guiding my hero here, so that I could reclaim what's rightfully mine." the woman said.

"Gentiana, I thought you were dead." Akira said, as the woman approached him. She smiled, placing a hand on his cheek.

"I could never truly die. You made me a promise, and it wouldn't be right of me if I died before you completed it. It's time for me to regain my true form, and regain my power." she said, holding her hand out.

"No, you can't steal this power, it's mine and mine alone!" Shiva shouted, as the magic surrounding her body slowly started drifting to Gentiana, flowing into her body.

"It was you...it was always you, the story about the princess, the hero...the legend of the man who killed you. It was always you, Princess Shiva." Akira said, earning a giggle from Gentiana.

The ice magic swirled around her, turning her skin an icy blue color. Her hair also changed, becoming an icy blue forming an upward ponytail, a thick braid formed at the front, being decorated with snowflakes. Her outfit changed entirely, the ice formed a tight fitting leotard, the see through cloth allowing him to get a good view of her abdomen, though it did cover her up, as the breast area had ice crystals on it, she also had ice blue heels, which glittered brightly in the light. A thin veil like cape flowed behind her, and she summoned a sword, made entirely out of ice. Calypso howled in anger as the magic left her body, changing her to her normal form. Her HP bars all dropped, falling to just two instead of the five.

"Now my hero, destroy this retched shrew, fulfill your promise to me." she said, handing Akira the ice sword. He nodded, and raced forward. The ice around the blade exploded outward, revealing the blade that was resting within.

It was a beautiful sword, that looked to be made from the finest ores around. It was longer than his other sword, this one being around 46 inches in length. The blade was a crystalline blue, and if you held it to the light you could see right through it. It was sharpened to a razor edge, the tip of it being shaped almost like the tip of an icicle. The cross guard was angled a bit, and decorated with crystal ice shards, the hilt was light blue, wrapped around in soft cloth. The blade glowed a bright crimson as he activated his ultimate skill.

"Phantom Rave!" he shouted.

Calypso howled in pain as the sword made contact with her body. Hit after hit, her HP went lower and lower. With one final hit, the last of her HP disappeared. The woman howled in anger, anguished that she had lost. Her body swelled and shattered, disappearing forever. A large congratulations banner appeared over him, along with a window.

" _Congratulations! You have passed the Grand Quest. You have been awarded with 10,000 Experiance Points, 3,000,000 Col and A brand new armor set."_

"Holy shit, this armor is stronger than anything I've got. The experience boost just carried me to level 79." he muttered. He glanced at the sword in his hand, it was also part of the armor he had gotten. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned around, seeing Gentiana, or rather Shiva. She smiled, lowering her head.

"You have done it, you have defeated Calypso. If she had gone undefeated, all of Aincrad would have perished at her hands." she said.

"Gentiana...why didn't you tell me you were the princess?" he asked curiously. The woman glanced away, looking at the moon above them.

"If I had told you outright, you probably wouldn't have believed me. I have been reborn countless times, leading a different life every time. I would always tell the story of the hero, but no one bearing the mark would come. I can't begin to tell you how long I've waited for someone like you to come."

"I never thought about it that way. Does that mean Noctis was the original hero?" he asked.

"Yes, he wielded that sword in your hand. He was tasked with the same mission all heroes are tasked with. My heart was thawed by his actions alone, and he didn't need to slay me. We fell in love and got married, we were ready to have children, start a family. But then, an ambush was formed, and he was killed. I grew angry with the ones that broke my heart and ended my life, so I destroyed them all. You've heard of the kingdom of Icevale correct?"

"Icevale, can't say that I have." he said.

"Hmm, no matter. When you arrive there, you will see it is all covered in a never ending snowstorm. I was the one who created it. My power lay dormant for years, and when I got a fraction of it back, I would sent it out, hoping someone would receive the mark. You can't imagine how happy I felt." she said.

"Yeah, you must have been relieved that someone could finally kill Calypso huh. She was the one who killed your husband wasn't she? Because she wanted your ice magic to kill Davy Jones."

"Indeed, however you taught me that I shouldn't live in the past. And that I have to be free and live my life. To let go of the one I loved, because that love was poisoning me. I am forever in your debt." she said, kneeling before him.

"Huh, now now...don't do that. You taught me a lot too, like how I should trust myself again, and not give up on life. Besides, you were kind to me when I was at my weakest. So I should be thanking you." he said. She giggled, standing back up.

"That's true too. But, it seems my time here is up...it won't be long until my magic vanishes. I used too much of it to help you destroy Calypso...by the time it comes back, I will have moved on from this world once more." she said.

"You mean, I'll never see you again?" Akira asked.

"I'm sorry. Such is the fate of my life it seems...my hero always comes, but when he does I have to go. We're fated to never be happy together." she said, glancing away from him.

"I can't just let that happen...what if, what if you become contracted to me. What if I use my magic to support yours? I can summon you whenever I need an extra hand, and you can be with your prince again." he said.

"Make a contract? An Astral Spirit bound to a human? Is that even possible?" she asked.

"It is, just as possible as a flower leading me to you. Please Princess Shiva, allow me to be your vessel, so you can be with your prince forever." he said, holding his hand out. Shiva nodded, holding back her tears.

"Thank you Akira, you are a kind person. You truly are worthy to be my prince." she said.

"You're welcome, you deserve to be happy." he said.

A window appeared in front of him, a blue font catching his attention. His eyes drifted to it, as he read it out loud.

"Princess Shiva wants to become your Eidolon, if you accept, you can summon her in battle once per day at the cost of 2000 Magic Points. Do you accept?"

Without hesitation, Akira hit yes. Shiva's body glowed brilliantly, as a flower shaped crystal formed in in front of her. She placed her hand under it, making it glow brightly.

"With this contract, I promise to help you out whenever you need me, from now until the end of time."

"I promise to take good care of you Shiva, you aren't my Eidolon, you're my friend, and my princess." he said, placing his hand over the crystal. A brilliant light erupted from it, enveloping the whole field.

Xxx

"Man, what's taking so long? You don't think he actually died right?" Nick asked.

"Calm your tits, he's still alive. His HP bar is visible." Sapphira said.

Aries was going to say something when the sound of the temple doors caught their attention. Everyone looked up, seeing Akira walking down the stairs, a smile on his face. He was wearing a brand new armor set, which looked similar to his own, but was a light lavender in color, taking on an icy appearance. His chest plate had a flower on it, just like the one that had once been on his hand. He also had a long sword attached to his waist, the icy blue scabbard glittering in the light.

"Akira, you made it. So what did you get?" Nick asked, earning a slap from Aries.

"Obviously the armor you idiota. And what an amazing armor that is." she said, looking him over. The boy stopped at the end of the stairs, grinning brightly.

"That Quest was so worth taking it. Not only did I get this sweet armor, but I also got my own unique skill. Ice Magic! I also got this, The Hero's Icy Garb. It boosts all of my stats, with this I'll be set for awhile!" he said.

"What about the sword, what's it called?" Sapphira asked, almost tempted to draw it. Thankfully he did that for her, holding it out for her to take.

"It's called, Shiva's Heart. It's a legend class weapon." he said. Sapphira took a hold of it, almost dropping it to the ground.

"Jeez, this is heavier than hell. How the fuck do you hold it?" she asked.

"My mistake, I thought it was lighter than that. I guess I'm the only one who can swing it, then again I am the hero." he said, taking the sword back.

"Hey, we drove all of those DDA guys back and sent Hayato to jail. Don't we get a reward?" Nick asked, earning a groan from Morrison. Akira chuckled, shaking his head.

"You do, everyone will get the finest food from the best restaurant in Algade, my treat!" he said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go! You need to tell us in detail what happened mister!" Sapphira said, pulling him along.

Xxx

"And that's how I got my end game armor." Akira said, defeating the final Wasp in the area. He sheathed his swords, turning to face Rain who had taken a break by the trees.

"Wow, so that's how you got that really cool armor. Hehe, that sword was also pretty neat. A legendary weapon huh, if only you had it now. We wouldn't have to worry about Ascalon."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing Shiva again, she's technically still contracted to me. However I'd have to do the Grand Quest again to gain her services. The DDA guys didn't say anything either, they didn't know about my Unique Skill, nor about my contract with Shiva, so they weren't able to share any information, other than details about the quest itself. Of course I was hounded by it, but I didn't say anything." he said.

"Hmm...so that takes us to 2024, the final year of SAO." Rain said.

"Actually, some stuff happened on Christmas and New Years, but I'll tell you about those later. We're about to enter the clearing where Nato was spotted last. Get ready it'll be a tough fight." he said, earning a nod from her.

"Hey, if we win this fight, can I get a kiss?" she asked.

"Sure, but only if you get the last hit!" he said with a grin.

"You're on!"


	18. Aincrad Arc: Death of the Dragonborn

**A/N: Hey guys and welcome to chapter 18 of the Violet Assassin.**

 **This is going to be a two part chapter, detailing mostly the events of the Black Swordsman chapter. For you who watched the anime, that would be episode four. Since Silica was one of Akira's first friends I decided to include him in her journey to the Hill of Memories. I also made Akira a bit of a douche in this chapter, idk why but he is a douche at some parts, mostly in the next chapter.**

 **For now I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I will post the next part tomorrow. I will also be doing some cleaning up on a few other stories while working on new chapters for Aloha Alola and Legends of Kalos, it should be fun...maybe.**

 **Hope you all have a wonderful day.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 18

Death of the Dragonborn

Akira let out a cry as he raced forward, swinging his swords as fast as he could. The large Minotaur roared in pain, swinging his two handed great sword at him. He used his Amber Blade to block the hit, quickly swinging around him and slashing his legs with Dawn of Steel. He jumped out of the way, flipping through the air with great expertise. He spun on his heel, swords glowing a brilliant blue. Hundreds of swords flashed around him, and he aimed his sword forward, launching them at the creature.

"Thousand Sword Rain!" he chanted. Nato's HP bar dropped down to the final one, and he hissed in anger as his body locked up.

"Rain, switch in!" Akira cried out.

"I got it!" the girl cried, dashing forward. She activated a Slant, bringing her sword in an upward arc. As she was falling, she activated a second Slant, bringing the sword down.

"Akira, switch!" she cried, flipping out of the way.

Akira raced forward, driving his swords into Nato's chest. With a growl, he slashed across the Minotaur's chest, leaving a red glittering X on its chest. He spun on his heel, delivering a dual Horizontal on the creature, it roared in pain, pixelated blood flew in all directions as the monster exploded into pixels, being reclaimed by the system. Akira sighed, panting a bit as the battle ended.

"Excellent work...we make a great team sweetie." he said, giving Rain a tired grin. She blushed brightly, still not used to being called that. She sheathed her swords, glancing down at the status screen before her.

"We got a decent amount of Exp from it, I leveled up to 18, what about you?" she asked.

"Same, did you get the sword? All I got was broken armor plates." he said. She scanned her drops, a frown on her face.

"No, I guess they changed the monster drops when New Aincrad was brought in." she said, closing the window. Akira sighed, placing his swords back at his waist.

"Guess it can't be helped. Yvir wanted to make Aincrad more challenging without the threat of death looming over us. Whatever the case, we have the boss data, so I'm going to share it with everyone." he said, opening his menu. He accessed the boss information and his the public share button, sending it to all of the players currently on the first and second floors.

"That's that, do you want to start clearing the labyrinth? We might get some nice drops there." Akira said, turning to face the redhead.

"Um...do you think we could do that another time? I really wanted to go on that date." she said, poking her fingers. He shrugged, closing his menu.

"Alright, where do you wanna go beautiful? There's a nice restaurant in Yggdrasil City, plus I was planning on buying an apartment there. It'll be awhile until Mishe is unlocked, and I don't feel like wasting my Yrd on an inn." he said.

"That'd be wonderful Akira, I can help you find a nice place to live. There are plenty near the shopping district." she said, jumping into the air, her wings appearing on her back.

"Okay, I'll let you pick my house. After all, women are much better at that stuff than men are." he said, jumping into the air. The two fairies flew off, flying over the forest of the Second Floor.

"It's such a beautiful day for a flight, isn't it?" Akira asked, flapping his wings to keep up with Rain. She nodded, stretching her arms forward.

"It is, it's always a nice day for a flight in ALO. It's never raining or anything." she said.

"That's one thing I miss about SAO. The weather was unpredictable. Whether you were walking through a snowstorm, or trying to hide from the rain, it always made the game interesting. Oh, that reminds me about the time I started taking bounty quests in Aincrad."

"You were a bounty hunter? I don't remember this, and I knew practically what you did throughout our time in the game." Rain said, a shocked look on her face.

"Hehe, that means my skills really were working. Well, me and the others decided to split up again. We discussed starting the guild again, but I just wasn't up for it you know. It wouldn't feel the same, so I told them I would meet up with them for every boss fight meeting. But when I wasn't leveling up, I was traveling Aincrad and listening to rumors. No one had seen my new armor, so it was really easy for me to hide."

"That would explain a lot. What about the DDA members that went after you with Hayato?" Rain asked curiously.

"Oh those guys? As it turns out, those guys were followers of Hayato who betrayed the DDA. Lind ended up branding them as traitors from his guild and they were all swiftly arrested. But Hayato made some other acquaintances in the game. Including members of Laughing Coffin." he said.

"Oh...wait did you ever find that guy who wanted to kill his wife?" She asked.

"No, I never did. That's a story for another time...um actually, I'm not sure if you did know this but...I actually dated someone else while in SAO." he said.

"I think I saw that girl...she had purple colored hair, and freckles around her face...what was her name again, Yoga Pants?" she asked.

"Yolko. But we didn't start dating for awhile, before that I'm going to tell you about these douche bags I ended up catching."

xxx

 _(February 14_ _th_ _2024 Location: Dimantia Floor 54)_

Akira narrowed his eyes as he glanced at a group of players not far from where he was. He was sitting in a popular pub on the 54th Floor. Dimantia had just been reached the week before, and everyone had steadily been working on clearing it. The allure of the settlement was that it was a place where you could mine diamonds. The diamonds were also highly valuable and very useful for crafting new weapons. The town was also quite lavish, due to this fact. It reminded him of Paris in a way, though it lacked the Eiffel Tower, Akira could see that the city was heavily based on the city of love. He took a gulp from his sake, grumbling under his breath. He had his Ethics Code on, so he wasn't going to get anything higher than a buzz. But it was still annoying to spend your day in a bar.

He remembered the reason why he had come to this bar in the first place. He was currently on a stake out, watching the players until he found someone familiar. He was sure his target was here, hiding among the other green players.

Earlier that day, he had been taking a break on Floor 53, scanning the area for his own apartment. Lake View Terrace was the settlement on the 53rd Floor, and it had some very nice lake side houses that caught his attention. However, on his way past the teleport gate, he saw a young man running around in circles, grabbing all of the players that were in the area. Most of them brushed him off, while others just plain ignored him. Wanting to know what was going on, he head right for the boy, just as a few girls brushed him off, saying that he had finally lost his mind. He cleared his throat, catching his attention.

"Something wrong buddy? You're scaring the ladies." he said, trying to break this ice.

"Please, you've to to help me. My friends, my guild...they were all killed." he exclaimed, causing Akira to go wide eyed.

"What, what do you mean they were all killed? By what?" he asked.

"A PK guild, we were exploring the Forest of Wandering on the 35th Floor, and these guys offered to party up with us. All of us agreed, but after awhile I noticed they just wanted our items. We were all lead to an ambush and my friends were killed. I was the only one who made it out. Please you have to get them for me." he said.

"Sorry man, I don't kill people. Contrary to how I'm dressed, I'm not a real assassin." Akira replied, about to walk away.

"No, I don't want them to die. I just want them arrested, look...I spent my entire guilds earnings on this Corridor Crystal. It's the most expensive item one can get on the higher floors. It's already been set to the Black Iron Palace, I just want someone to arrest them and their leader." he said, handing Akira the crystal.

It was a large crystal, the same color as the Teleport Crystals. It was also the same one that the clearing team used once the boss room was found. It would take them straight there, rather then having them walk through the labyrinth again, wasting consumables and tiring the people out.

"What do you want me to do?" Akira asked, glancing at the young man. He had a desperate look on his face, his eyes filled with sadness. Akira saw a bit of himself in the young man. The same pain he had felt when Sasha had died, he could feel it coming from him. The boy lowered his head, his tears falling to the floor.

"Please...just arrest them. I don't want anyone else to die at their hands, and if you can get our gear back, that would be good too. But I know they must have sold it already, so it's alright if you can't."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they get what's coming to them. What's the name of the guild, or the master of it?"

"I don't know the name of the guild, but I remember one woman. She was called Rosalia, and she seemed to be the leader of it." he said.

"Got it, I'll make sure they get there. For now head to Floor 35 and talk to a girl named Sapphira, tell her I sent you. She'll take care of you." he said.

"Okay, how will I find her?" he asked.

"She's usually hanging out near the Weathercock Pavilion, she likes their cheese cake. You'll be safe with her, promise." he said. The boy nodded, and walked off, heading toward the Teleport Gate. He disappeared a few seconds later. Akira stared at the corridor crystal in his hands, a frown on his face.

He shook his head, pulling himself out of his musings. He hadn't found any information on Rosalia at all. Other then one person who said she normally hung around bars on the 54th Floor. For a PK Guild, they were really cautious. Taking down low leveled players on the middle floors, it just angered him to no end. Especially since he had friends down there who could easily fall victim to them. He had sent out a warning to all of his mid level friends, but he hadn't heard anything back from them.

He glanced at a particular table near the other end of the bar, seeing a few men toasting about something. He tried not to make it obvious, but he was glaring right at them. He closed his eyes, activating his listening skill. He could feel his ear twitching a bit as he focused on them.

" _I can't believe it, that guy was a blubbering mess."_

" _I heard he went to every floor from here to the Front lines, begging someone to apprehend us. The idiot, he doesn't even know our name!"_

" _We can't celebrate too much. We still need to pay a visit to our friends on the lower floors. You know orange players can't be seen in town during the day. It's about time you minions took them food."_ A strong, female voice said. One of them groaned, leaning against his seat.

" _Come on Rose, why do we have to do that? Shouldn't they be responsible for their own food?"_

" _Need I remind you Trent that they are handling our dirty work? They are seven of my best and I can't afford to lose them. So get down to the 36_ _th_ _Floor and bring them their food!"_

" _Yes Ma'am. Right away Ma'am!"_ the men cried, quickly finishing their food. They paid their tabs and hurriedly left. The woman however remained at her spot, opening her menu. Akira couldn't see what she was doing exactly, but he knew she must have been looking for another target. He waited for a few minutes and stood up, paying his tab and quietly leaving the pub.

" _Alright, so those guys are the green players that most likely get supplies and stuff in town. That means the orange players are downstairs hiding and waiting for orders. If I eliminate those Seven, then the seven that just left will be forced into battle. That way I can get them all in one place."_ he thought to himself. He stepped onto the teleporter, a smirk on his face.

"Teleport: Bodum!" he called out.

He took a deep breath as he appeared in the Seaside city of Bodum. This place was another beach side city. But unlike Honolucia, this place seemed to be more of a living place rather than a resort floor. Many low leveled players made their homes here, and it had been the base of the Knights of the Blood Oath for quite awhile, until they moved up to the 54th Floor. Thinking back on the top guild, he had noticed their commander had been missing from the front lines for quite awhile.

He never really liked Heathcliff, it wasn't his attitude or how he acted really. It was the fact that he was mysterious. He didn't remember him being in the Town of Beginnings on Launch Day. He just sort of appeared, forming the strongest guild, and appointing Asuna of all people as his Vice Commander. It seemed odd, but the Lightning Flash had made herself well known in Aincrad.

Brushing that aside, he focused on getting to the forest area just outside of Bodum. It was a bit of a sandy area, but the forest was just as vast as many others on the higher floors. It was also one of the floors that was filled with Spider monsters, something that made some of the other players head for the hills. He wasn't scared of Spiders perse, but he knew people that were terrified of them. He of course had to take those people down to the 33rd Floor and train them there.

He quickly dashed behind a tree, lowering himself down a bit. He virtually disappeared as his Hiding skill was activated. He saw a group of players coming out of one of the deeper areas of the forest, heading toward the city. Akira focused on their cursors, seeing all of them were glowing orange.

" _They're they are. Seven people just like that woman said, they all must be around level 45 or so. That's how they get the lower players, they use stronger weapons to do more damage. They make me sick."_ he thought, hissing under his breath.

"So, where do you think those idiots are? I'm getting hungry." one man said.

"Eh, don't worry about it Todd. They'll be here soon, I just want it to be night time already so I can head into town. Maybe I can grab an NPC and blow some steam." another man said.

"You weirdo, how could you even think of abusing NPCs like that? They don't even act like women. I grabbed this hot one on Floor 12 that was really freaking wild. Sure she resisted but that's what made it fun."

"Man, I can't listen to any of this. I don't condone rape Mark, what's wrong with you?"

"Dude calm down, we're player killers after all. Besides, there's no guarantee about what Kayaba said. I was just giving her the best ride of her life before sending her back home. It's all in good fun." Todd said.

Akira closed his eyes, having heard enough. He drew his sword from his waist, kneeling down.

"Hey, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounded like someone drawing a sword."

Akira dashed forward, his sword glowing a brilliant blue. He slashed the nearest man, quickly paralyzing him. Thanks to his sword, Preemptive strikes had the chance of freezing monsters in place. He dashed through them, throwing a ball of ice into the ground, willing it to explode. He flipped through the air, landing on the ground.

"Oh shit, it's the Violet Assassin!"

"Who the hell told him where we were?"

"Quick you dumb asses, attack him!"

Akira smirked, pulling his hood down. He parried the sword slash thrown at him, quickly knocking the man back. He slammed his fist into the man's chin, knocking him out cold, his body locking up due to the ice. He spun around, his sword glowing red as he slashed them all with a Horizontal. They all cried out in shock as their HP fell down past the yellow, all of them locking up in place. Akira grit his teeth, aiming the tip of his sword at the leader.

"You mother fuckers think your so goddamn cool. Raping NPCs, stealing equipment from low leveled players, harassing women? What's wrong with you? Every life is precious, you shouldn't do these disgusting things to people!"

"You think you're a saint, you killed a man yourself. Don't act like you're a good person, you're the same as us!" the man spat. Akira rose his sword above his head, about to bring it down when he felt someone grab his arm. He glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening a bit at the sight of a familiar face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I've been following you around, ever since that guy from Silver Flags talked to you. Sorry." he said. He materialize a bundle of rope and started trying the paralyzed men up, once he did he sent a message out to someone.

"Kirito, what...happened to you man? You just went AWOL." Akira said, sheathing his sword.

"I'll tell you later, is that paralysis permanent?" he asked, glancing at the men.

"Yeah, my sword dishes out paralyzing ice that will freeze a person for at least ten minutes unless they use a healing item. They'll be good for awhile." Akira said, resisting the urge to kick the leader in the face.

"Hey Violet Assassin, you're messing with the wrong people man. When our leader finds out it was you that did this, she'll stop at nothing to kill you."

"She can try, but remember if she messes with any of my friends, she's dead. Have fun in jail." he said, giving them a smile. A small squad of KoB members finally appeared, being lead by a man named Godfree, he spoke briefly with Akira, before taking the paralyzed men with them. Kirito remained silent the entire time, until all of the men had been hauled off to prison. Akira sighed with relief, deciding to leave before the others showed up.

"So, I didn't think you'd start doing Bounty Hunting requests, you've been making a good name for yourself." Kirito said, a small smile on his face.

Akira noticed the teenager's current armor. It was a black coat, that fell all the way down to his ankles. It had white thread around the edges, with a wide collar. He wore a black shirt underneath, a belt crossing over his chest, which held his sword to his back. He was wearing a pair of matching black pants, stuffed into some black boots. His hair was just as messy as the last time he had seen him. Kirito caught his gaze, a smile on his face.

"You like the coat? I had Ashley make it for me."

"That must have been some high grade material then. I heard she moved her shop to Lindas, I'll have to check it out when I have the time." he said.

"Yeah, Asuna suggested I visit her when I got a rare monster drop. I also heard rumors of you and where you got your current gear. Taking on a Grand Quest on your own? You act almost like me." the boy said.

"Pfft, yeah right. I bet you're way stronger than I am...even though I spent two weeks power leveling after the 50th Floor boss was defeated. I'm only level 82." he said.

"Interesting, you and I are the same level then. I heard what happened from Asuna, I'd like to give my condolences for your loss. I know what it feels like to loose someone important to you." he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. By now they were both walking through Bodum, passing by some of the NPC shops and restaurants as they headed toward the teleport station.

"You do? Did you...loose someone too?" Akira asked quietly. Kirito nodded, a frown on his face.

"I was in a guild, called the Moonlit Black Cats. They were all really spirited, what made their guild special is that they were all friends IRL. They dove together on day one and formed their guild. They were all around level 20 when I joined, and I was level 42. I lied and told them I was level 20 too. I just wanted to fit in, but then I met a girl named Sachi. She was also part of the guild, and was really cowardly. We were able to help her level up, and eventually we started falling for each other." he admitted.

Akira remained silent, already knowing why he and Kirito were so similar. He had lost someone he cared about in the game as well. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, an image of Sasha appeared in his mind, giving him a warm smile and a happy wave. He shook his head, glancing at the setting sun.

"I'm sorry Kirito, I didn't know something like that happened to you too."

"I'm sorry too...I wasn't able to keep my promise to get her out of here. She didn't blame me for her death, not at all. For awhile, I kept seeing it, she along with the rest of our guild got trapped in an Anti-Crystal zone. I remembered what you said about them, and wanted them to be careful, but in their excitement they all walked in. It was too late, I wasn't able to save any of them. Our master Keita jumped off the ledge when I told him the truth. I wanted to die, but then I heard a rumor about a revival item."

"Revival item...wait, we're you the one that soloed the event mission, Nicholas the Renegade?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, I power leveled for days on end, until I was level 78 and took the quest on my own. Even then I had to use all my potions and crystals to beat it. But the Revival Item was bogus, in order for it to work it had to be applied during the first ten seconds after the person died. For me, it was useless. So I just disconnected from the world, but when I heard about Laughing Coffin and all of those other PK guilds, I just couldn't sit by."

"I get what you mean. Honestly I was about to walk away, but when he told me he spent everything he had on a corridor crystal, I just couldn't ignore him. I spent a few hours following rumors on the 54th Floor, and that lead me down here. Sadly that wasn't all of them. There's another group, but if we want the master we'll need to trick them all."

"Trick them how?" Kirito asked curiously.

"Well, if I'm correct, when the leader finds out her friends got canned, she'll send out her current party to start taking up their spot. Which means she'll need to recruit more green players to successfully fool others into her party. That's when we get her, we'll need to find an item that's rare and valuable, something that will attract her attention." he said.

"That will be hard. I can't really think of anything that's rare and valuable." Kirito said. Akira sighed, groaning a bit. He opened his menu, transferring the Corridor Crystal to his friend.

"Hang on to that for me...I'll see if I can find something I can use. I'm sure Argo will let me know about something." he said.

"If you say so...did you find out what place they like to hang around at?" the black haired teenager asked.

"The Forest of Wondering seems like a prime target. I'll let you know if I can find something, if not then I'm sure you can come up with a plan. You're the Black Swordsman after all."

"Heh, so you've heard of me?"

"Who hasn't, soloing a monster alone? Getting that sweet demonic sword, Elucidator. Honestly, if I didn't have a legendary class sword, I would be extremely jealous. Keep in touch alright?"

"Sure."

 _(February 23_ _rd_ _2024: Location: Dimantia Floor 54)_

Reappearing on the 54th Floor. Akira stepped off the platform and walked into the town. Thankfully, he didn't let himself be known so he was sure the other members of that guild didn't suspect anything. At least until Rosalia herself saw the location of her friends. It wouldn't be long until she was aware of what he was doing. He thought back to his client, a frown on his face. That kid must have been teleporting from floor to floor, asking players for help for days on end until he finally took the request. He had gotten half the job done, but now he needed a new plan. He had been following up on rumors on countless floors, but he had yet to actually find Rosalia and catch her in the act. He didn't know if she was still stealing from other players, but he was completely sure she was.

He and Kirito had made plans over the last few days, to ensnare them, but they hadn't gotten close to the actual operation. It was just too hard for them to track Rosalia down, especially when no one alive knew what she looked like. The only lead Akira had was the pub on the 54th Floor, but he didn't see many players there anymore. The Frontlines had moved to Grandzam on Floor 55, so he was sure everyone was exploring that town. Still, ore and mineral miners stuck around, making a huge profit from the local diamond mines.

The young man sighed as he sifted through his friends list. He didn't see any darkened names, a sign that those players had been killed. His eyes fell on a couple of players currently on the 35th Floor. His eyes drifted onto a familiar one, Silica's, who was currently in the Forest of Wandering. He clicked on her name, opening the map to the 35th Floor. She was in the northern sector, walking back from the labyrinth. He quickly shot to his feet, running toward the teleporter.

"What the hell is she thinking? Taking that place on her own, she's only level 44, there's no way she can handle that place with just her and Pina!" he cried, jumping onto the stone platform.

"Teleport: Mishe!" he cried, his body enveloped in blue.

Reappearing in the night trodden town, Akira ran through the streets, heading toward the forest. It had been awhile since he had come down to the middle floors, especially since he had moved into his new apartment. He was sure his friends still hung around, but he didn't see them on the Floor map.

It wasn't long before he had lost himself in the forest. One thing about the Forest of Wondering was that no matter how many times you mapped it, it was always different. The layout of the labyrinth was always the same, and so were other locations, but the paths were always different. It made it the perfect place to commit in game crimes, including murder. He drew his sword from his back, slashing right through a Drunken Ape that had appeared on the path. It burst into polygons, disappearing from sight as he pulled himself to a stop, sliding across the dirt path.

He panted a bit for breath, looking around. He couldn't see anything that was familiar. He opened his menu and tapped Silica's icon, activating his tracking skill. He noticed a golden trail a few feet away from him and headed toward it. Seeing the trail off footprints, he decided to follow them, keeping an eye out for other players.

He kept racing through the woods, hoping to find his friend. The sound of something shattering caught his ear, and he pulled himself to a stop, glancing toward the right. He saw three Drunken Apes not far from where he stood, clubs raised above their heads. He took a deep breath and dashed forward, activating one of his sword skills. He destroyed the apes with ease, clearing the field of monsters. He looked to the ground, eyes widening a bit.

"Silica?" he called out, catching the girl's attention. Rather than a smile, he was greeted with a tear soaked expression. The young girl was kneeling over what looked like a glowing feather. Her shoulders shook a bit, letting out another anguished cry.

"Akira." she cried through her tears. Akira sheathed his sword, kneeling down before the girl.

"What's wrong, what happened?" he asked.

"It's Pina, she...she died!"

Akira remained silent. Pina had been Silica's friend for the longest time. He had been there when she had been tamed and grew fond of the little dragon. His throat tightened up a bit at the news, and he wrapped his arms around the girl, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, if I had been a little faster maybe I could have saved her. Why did you come here, by yourself no less?" he asked.

"I wasn't alone...I ended up leaving my party. The leader wanted all of the good items and wanted to keep the crystals and potions to herself. So me and Pina left, thinking we could make it back to Mishe alone. But we were ambushed by those Drunken Apes. She's death because of me!" she cried, hugging him tightly. He sighed, rubbing her back as she continued to cry her heart out. Akira heard footsteps, his hand quickly flew to his belt where he kept some throwing knives, he pulled three out and threw them behind him, nailing the tree.

"Whoa, don't attack it's just me."

"Kirito?" Akira said, glancing at the young man that had appeared behind them. He had a frown on his face, something that was really common nowadays. He gave him a wave, standing not far from them.

"I should have said something. I was keeping watch on the forest in case something happened, when you ran past me. What's wrong?" he asked.

"My friend here, her familiar ended up being killed." he replied. Silica sniffled, brushing her tears away. She looked up at Kirito, a look of curiosity on her face.

"Are you one of Akira-san's friends?" she asked.

"Yes, we're both on the clearing team. My name is Kirito, nice to meet you Silica." he said, extending his hand out to her. She hesitantly shook it.

"Wait, how do you know my name?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I told him how we met. Besides everyone knows you Dovahkiin." he said, making her giggle. Kirito knelt down beside her, looking at the feather on the floor. He hummed to himself, glancing at the girl.

"Silica, do you know what this is?" he asked.

"That's...one of Pina's feathers. It's the last thing I have of her." she said, tears threatening to spill.

"Is that so? Try to see it's information." he said. She nodded, tapping the feather with her finger. The window opened up, saying the name of the item.

"Pina's Heart, oh no...my best friend's heart is just this feather?" she cried out.

"No, this is excellent. If you've got this item then there's a way to revive her." Kirito said.

"There is? I didn't know this was possible." Akira said, gaining interest. He was technically a beast tamer himself, since he had forged a contract with Shiva. If she ever got killed on him, he wouldn't forgive himself, so this was good information to have.

"Yes, on the 47th Floor, there's a dungeon called The Hill of Memories. Supposedly, there's a revival item that grows there." Kirito said.

"The 47th Floor? I can't go up there...I'm still under leveled. I guess when I grow stronger I can go up there myself." she said sadly.

"I'm sorry, but if the familiar isn't revived within three days, then it'll be gone forever." Kirito said.

"What? No I can't let that happen." Silica cried out.

"Whoa, calm down Sil, I've cleared that dungeon. I can get the item for you and bring it back lickety split. Pina is my friend too remember? After all she likes eating my peanuts whenever she has the chance." he said with a chuckle.

"You will? Thank you so much Akira-san, this means a lot to me!" the girl cried, hugging him tightly. He smiled, hugging her back.

"No problem kiddo. You're like a sister to me, so I have to be a good big brother and help you out."

"Akira, there's another piece of information that you need to know. The Revival Item won't appear unless the familiar's master is present. Silica has to be there in order for her to get it." Kirito said. Just like that, her hopes were shattered. Silica deflated a bit, releasing Akira from her grip.

"It's alright guys, you've done enough for me. I guess Pina won't be coming back after all." she said.

Akira's lips formed a thin line. He didn't exactly know what to do, that is until he saw Kirito opening his menu. He saw that it was a trade request.

"Don't worry, if me and Akira go with you, you should be fine. This armor should bring your stats up to a good level, enough for you to handle the dungeon itself." He said, dropping the armor into the window. Akira glanced over his shoulder, whistling a bit.

"Silverthread armor, Moon Blazer Gloves and some Fairy Boots? Jeez Kirito, I didn't know you liked dressing in female armors." Akira said jokingly. The boy smirked, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Don't tell anyone, but I look great in a skirt. My legs are as smooth as a baby's butt." he said. Akira broke into a fit of laughter, clutching his sides.

"Oh man, that's a good one. Still, this is some high quality armor, Silica's stats should raise by quite a bit. I got something for her too, something I've actually been meaning to give her." he said, opening his own trade menu.

"You guys are giving me armor? I can't let you do that. At least let me pay for it." Silica said.

"Sweetheart, don't you remember it was Sasha that got you the stuff you got now? I work helping the intermediate players level up. Kirito is giving you a great set, but it won't be good without a weapon. After all this is for Pina's sake too." he said, dropping his old dagger in along with Kirito's armor.

"Are you sure?" she asked, earning a nod from both teenagers.

"We're sure...besides I got my own reasons for doing this. Don't laugh but...you remind me of my little sister." he said. Silica bit her lip, trying her hardest not to laugh. She however couldn't help herself, earning a groan from the black haired boy.

"It's getting late, why don't we discuss this in town? Say the Weathercock Pavilion?" he asked.

"I love that place, it has the best cheese cake around!" Silica said, accepting all of the items she had been given.

"Okay, then we'll lead the way. You'll be just fine." Kirito said, drawing his sword from his scabbard.

Akira took notice of it, seeing that it wasn't the Elucidator, but rather another low leveled sword. He was also wearing some low leveled equipment too. He figured he must have left his stronger sword in storage as to not attract attention. Akira had done the same, using another sword while he was down there. After all, bringing attention to himself as the Violet Assassin would have been back for his current quest.

It wasn't long before the three made it back to Mishe. The town was crawling with NPC's and players alike, giving the midnight town a hint of life that it lacked before. Being the hub of the intermediate players, there was always something going on. Akira kept his eyes peeled for signs of his friends, but sadly he hadn't seen hide or hair of them. They had most likely left the 35th Floor to handle a quest or something. Before entering the town, Akira had excused himself to change his armor to his previous set, as to not arise attention. Only people on the higher floors knew who he was, and it had been awhile since he had seen any recognizable people. Knowing the PK Guild was around, he decided it would be best not to attract attention.

"So, where do you live Kirito? Do you live around here?" Silica asked, trying to make conversation.

"I'm at Floor 50. It's sort of far from here so I'll just rent a room on this floor." he responded. Akira nodded as well.

"I got a house on Floor 53, so it's a bit of a hassle to go up there. Besides It's much easier staying down here with you." he replied.

"That's true...well the restaurant is over here. You gave me all this armor, so the least I can do is pay for dinner." Silica said.

Both boys agreed, not wanting to argue with the girl. As they were walking though a couple of boys a bit older than Silica came running toward her, saying stuff about partying up. The girl froze in place, a saddened look on her face.

"I'm sorry guys, I would love to party with you, but I'm actually teamed up with my friends here." she said, clutching onto Akira's arm. The older boy, who was wearing a skirt glanced up at Akira, giving him a firm glare.

"What's up buddy, something bothering you?" he asked curiously.

"No no, we can team up later right?" the asked, looking at Silica. She simply nodded, pulling Akira and Kirito along.

"Well, you've got a lot of friends." the black haired boy said.

"Actually, they're not my friends. I party up with a lot of people but, they only see me as a mascot. I was called Dragon Tamer, so I let it go to my head." she said, tearing up.

"Hey, no more tears. We promised to help out and we will, so chin up Dovahkiin, you'll see your friend again soon!" Akira said, making the girl giggle.

"You know, you've been calling me that for awhile, what does it mean?" she asked. Kirito chuckled, shaking his head.

"You've been calling her that and never explained it?" he asked.

"I thought I did?" he asked.

"No, you never did...you also called Pina, "Alduin" for some reason. It confused her quite a lot." she added.

"Okay, let me explain then. Way before our current gaming generation, there existed a mythical gaming system. One that was created by an over seas company, back in my home of America. It was a powerful system, but it had various problems with the hardware. It was known solely, as the Xbox 360. On November 11th 2011, a game unlike any other was released, it was called The Elder Scrolls Five: Skyrim." Akira said.

"You were dropped in the mythical land of Skyrim, as a prisoner caught and ready to be executed, but you weren't just a normal person. No, you were the Dragonborn of Legend, the legendary Dovahkiin, a man born with the soul of a dragon. It was your duty to free Skyrim from the claws of evil!" Kirito said. Silica's eyes were glittering, an expression of wonder on her face.

"That sounds like an awesome game! So that's why you kept calling me that, because I tamed a dragon. I'm technically a Dragon Born!" she cried, excitement filling her voice.

"Sure are kiddo, wait until we get outta here. Were marathoning through Skyrim, all 350 hours of it." he said.

"350 hours?" she cried, eyes widened in shock.

"Oh come on, we've been playing SAO for how long?" Kirito added.

"Against our will bro. But he's got a point, 350 hours is nothing compared to a year straight of SAO. That will be cake walk for you." he said, clapping her shoulder.

"Well what a surprise. If it isn't Silica!" a firm voice called out, causing them all to stop. Akira looked behind them, seeing a small party of five players, all seemingly familiar with Silica. He glanced at the red haired lancer among them, narrowing his eyes.

"So, you made it out of the Forest of Wondering after all, good for you!" she said happily.

"Oh, hi Rosalia." the girl said, not too happy. Akira stiffened a bit at the name, but said nothing as he continued watching the woman. Kirito looked between the girl and the woman, a curious look on his face. He knew who she was, but he wasn't saying a thing.

"Wait, what happened to your little lizard friend? Did it run away?" She asked.

"No...Pina died protecting me." Silica replied.

"Oh, that's a shame. You should have stuck with us, we would have made it back safely." the woman said.

"Yeah, well maybe if you didn't try to take all of her fucking healing items, Pina would still be alive. You know Silica was almost killed? If she had died, certainly her death would have been because of your negligence. Next time you want to take shit from someone, think about the repercussions of your actions, unless you want more deaths on your hands." Akira said firmly.

"She was the one who left the party boy, so don't blame me. I'm assuming you'll be heading up to the Hill of Memories. You'll need a lot of help at your level!" the woman said, chuckling a bit.

"Actually, Silica will be able to handle it. The monsters there aren't that strong, and we're both here." Kirito said.

"Yes, you should be able to handle it alright. You both look pretty weak, I wouldn't bother with her if I we're you. Oh well, take care of yourselves." she said, walking off in another direction. Akira balled his hands in anger. Kirito placed a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to let it go.

They continued onward, finally reaching the restaurant. Silica lead them toward a table in the back, but Akira really didn't feel like eating anything. He had just remained silent, not really thinking of anything to say. He just stuck with a glass of juice while Kirito was busy eating a sandwich.

"I really have to thank you two. You guys have taken the time to actually help me, I'm sure if it was someone else, they would have just ignored me."

"It's not an issue Silica. It's a rather easy mission to take care of." Kirito said, brushing it off like nothing. Akira chuckled, setting his glass down.

"Of course you say it's easy. Either way, we got a lot of stuff to discuss, you and I. We'll talk when we get to the inn, for now I'll be waiting outside." Akira said, standing up from his seat.

"Is something wrong Akira-san?" Silica asked, grabbing his sleeve. He shook his head, giving her a smile.

"I'm fine...just got some stuff to handle in town. Items and stuff, nothing you should concern yourself with." he said, patting her head. Kirito watched him go, a frown on his face. He wanted to say something, but he knew he could compromise the mission if he did. So he just remained silent.

xxx

"Aw, I didn't know Silica's dragon died. That must have been so hard for her." Rain said, earning a nod from Akira.

"Mhmm, it was nothing though. Getting the flower was easier said than done though."

"Right, you had to go through all of the bullshit of finding Rosalia. I remember meeting her when I was leveling up. She was such a damn bitch, it was good that I never partied up with her. She might have killed me too." she said, crossing her arms.

"That would have been a damn shame. I wouldn't get to walk around with you or even talk like this." he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. She eeped, not expecting him to do that.

"A-Akira, this is a b-bit s-sudden." she said.

"Nah, it's fine. No one we know is logged in anyway, so we'll be just fine...how about we take a break from house hunting and have some lunch?" he asked, glancing at an open air cafe not far from where they were. She nodded, taking his hand in her own.

"I like this one, they serve the best tea in Alfheim." she said.

"Okay, by your lead then. Say, have the others said anything about a get together? We should definitely have one." Akira said. Rain adopted a pensive look, placing a finger on her chin.

"No, no one has said anything. Some others are still going through rehab, others recovered easily. I've been bombarded with tests left and right, but was finally cleared for work. You're in surgery too." she said.

"Maybe we should host a party for those who made it out alive. I'm sure my mother would be happy to meet some of my other friends. I'd have to get in touch with Aries and Morrison though, they need to be here." he said.

"It wouldn't be the same for you without them right? I understand that feeling, by the way you've described them, you really care for them." Rain said.

"Of course, they're my teammates. My irreplaceable friends, people I could trust with anything and everything. I wouldn't be here without them, especially after everything that happened. We cleared SAO together, so it would be an insult for me to leave them out." he said.

"Here here! I know, I'll talk to your mother and see if we can arrange something. Where would we host it though?" she asked curiously. He looked up at the sky, humming to himself.

"I know, there's this really beautiful place in Inokashira Park. It's a lakeside cabin, we could rent it for the day and have a cook out. That way we can invite all of our friends. Not just that, it can be an open invite to other players of SAO. I don't mind paying for everything, hell I got more money than I know what to do with." he said.

"That sounds lovely. The Sakura trees are blossoming, we could take a walk down by the lake. It could be...our first date in the real world." she said, giving him a smile.

"Yes, I'd like that. Nijika...I'm so happy I met you." he said.

"Me too Noah, I'm happy we met too." she said.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, their cheeks tinged red. Rain finally took the initiative, closing the distance between them. The two of them locked lips, sharing their first kiss as a couple. It was a kiss both of them would cherish until the end of time.


	19. Aincrad Arc: Rebirth of the Dragonborn

**A/N Hello everyone and welcome to the second part of last night's chapter. This will cover the second half of Episode 4 of Sword Art Online, as well as the events of the Black Swordsman chapter.**

 **So, it seems I have been plagued with writer's block. I have been unable to continue anything. I tried to continue Pokemon, to no avail. I also got very far in SAO but decided to take a break from it. Right now I'm going to try to continue my Danganronpa story as it has been quite awhile. I might do some editing and stuff if I have the chance. If not, then I guess I'll have to work on some one shots or something, idk.**

 **I digress, I will leave this chapter here for you all to read. I hope you all enjoy it.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 19

Rebirth of the Dragonborn

Akira was smiling brightly, and was really giddy. He felt an immense happiness, mostly because of his kiss with Rain. He hated to admit it, but he was a sucker for a girl with hazel colored eyes. Thankfully, her eyes in game were the same as in the real world. He could lose himself in them forever. Rain was still blushing brightly, her hand tightly grasping his own. The two of them looked like a newlywed couple, and some of the other players were chuckling and pointing at them. Some stopped when they recognized Akira as the Violet Assassin, while others just gave him a nod in greeting. Overall, Akira was having a good day.

They had left the cafe after an hour, having eaten quite a lot of stuff. Rain had insisted he try the Fruit Tart, so he ended up eating ten of them. Now they had resumed the search for a nice apartment, looking around the center parts of Yggdrasil City.

"So, do you see anything yet sweetie?" he asked. She shook her head, glancing around at some of the buildings.

"Most of these have been bought already. Maybe we should try on the north side of the city. It's a bit more expensive over there but there should be some nice apartments." she said.

"Hmm, alright. I guess since it'll be sort of like a hangout I can spend some money on it. Besides, I sort of have to spend it quick, before the system realizes I got too much of it." he admitted.

He had discovered upon transferring his SAO data, that all of his previous items had also passed through. It was do to ALO being run by the Cardinal System. However if he materialized any of his items, the system would deem them as an error and that would have attracted attention. So he had no choice but to delete everything, for the sake of his mission with Kirito. It had been a shame, but he had made a promise to himself that he would bring Shiva back. Yvir had luckily saved her data and was working on something especially for him. A familiar that no one else would be able to have in game.

They passed by the main square, seeing some of the older players walking around. ALO had attracted quite the crowd when it was brought back. Upon hearing that New Aincrad was going to be patched in, more people made the jump over. They were all curious about the land that had trapped Ten Thousand players for two years. He could still feel the apprehensive feeling, when he finally made it to the top floor after fighting for so long. He shook his head, giving a smile to the other players.

"Akira, you've grown a bit tense. What's wrong?" Rain asked, concern clear in her voice. He sighed, adopting a frown.

"I was just thinking back on what happened in Aincrad. What happened when we all reached Floor 100." he said.

"Right, not everyone made it to that floor. In the end, it was a glitch that got the clearing team there. We didn't even see the last Fifteen Floors." Rain said, a frown on her face.

"Mhmm. It was just...such a tough thing to experience, there we were at the top of Aincrad, staring the Ruby Palace down. We were ready to fight and yet...I just didn't feel like it. It's hard to explain...but I would rather leave that for the end of my story. How about I continue where I left off?"

"Sure, before you had my curiosity, but now you've got my attention." she said, kissing his cheek. He flushed, blubbering a bit.

"I well, um...I...there we were on Floor 35." he said, not bothering to set the scene whatsoever.

Xxx

 _(February 23_ _rd_ _2024: Location: Mishe Floor 35)_

Akira frowned as he walked toward the Honey Bone Inn. It was one of the cheaper places in Mishe. He had told his friends that he would be waiting for them there. He was sitting at a table near the front desk, staring intently at the pyramid shaped lamp on it. He had kept the light off, giving his corner a bit of darkness. A few of the other players looked at him oddly, but they didn't question it.

He was still thinking about what happened at the square. That woman was definitely the leader of Titan's Hand. She had fit the general description Sapphira had gotten from Locke, the leader of the Silver Flags guild. She was partied up with four other players, who looked like they had just gotten to Floor 35. They were most likely leveling up and collecting money for new weapons. That women was most likely imposing on them, watching them get good stuff so she could then ambush and kill them all. It made him sick.

But then he remembered his plan. He and Kirito had been working extensively to set their plan in motion. Now that they had confirmed the identity of the leader, it was time to set the trap. He hated himself, but he was going to have to use Silica as the bait. He really didn't want it to be the way, but it was the only way Rosalia would fall for it. Mentioning Pina and the Hill of Memories was enough to pique her interest. She would be there, that was for sure.

What he wasn't sure of was if she recognized him. If she had, she didn't show it, but thankfully he had decided to wear some different armament. If he had used his actual armor, he would have been screwed. It was also a boon that they didn't know his name, or else he would be screwed too. This all hinged on one thing, and that was Silica and her ability to get the rare revival item. Surely that's what Rosalia was after.

He leaned back in his seat, having finished his message to Sapphira. He had let her know what his plans were and had them on standby in the Hill of Memories in case something happened. After all he didn't want to risk Silica's life. He was sure he and Kirito could handle it, but he didn't want to take chances. He also checked his inventory, making sure he had enough consumables for the trip.

He looked up just as the door opened, seeing his friends had finally arrived. He closed his menu and stood up, walking over to meet them. Silica gave him a bright smile, having placed her hands behind her back. Kirito remained rather neutral, though he did have a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"What took you so long? Don't tell me you two were on a date?" he asked in a teasing tone. Silica blushed brightly, shaking her head.

"No no, we weren't on a date. Me and Kirito were just getting to know each other, that's all."

"That sounds like a date to me Dovahkiin, it's alright. You're big brother approves." he said, giving them a thumbs up.

"Don't be an ass Akira." Kirito said, shaking his head in disdain.

"Alright, all joking aside...we should really get to bed. We've got a busy day tomorrow. I already rented my room so I'll be heading up." he said.

"Okay, have a good night Akira-san!" Silica said. He gave her a soft pat on the head before heading upstairs to the third floor. He walked to the end of the hall, walking into his room. He locked the door after himself, walking toward the bed. He groaned, stretching his tired limbs.

"Man, what a day. It feels...a lot later than usual." he said, yawning loudly. He glanced at his HUD seeing it was only a quarter to midnight. He had spent way more time leveling up, but today he felt extremely tired. He felt himself slowly start drifting to sleep.

However, a firm knock roused him from his slumber. He shot up to his feet, quickly falling to the ground, not having turned the lights on to see where he was going. He groaned as he opened the door, seeing it was Kirito. He chuckled a bit, glancing at his forehead.

"You alright dude? I heard you took a tumble, I can see the pixels." he said.

"Yeah well, I fell asleep. That's what people do at night you bastard." he said jokingly.

"I wanted to talk more, but we should do it with Silica. After all, you know the real reason why we're here."

"I know...I've decided not to say anything. Just in case...let's just make it look like a normal walk through the flower field." he said. Kirito nodded, and lead Akira down the hall, to where Silica's room was. He gave three knocks on the door, the hood wearing player leaning against the wall.

"Silica, are you still awake? I'd like to talk more about our mission tomorrow. I've brought Akira along." he said.

" _Oh sure, I'll get the door in just a..."_

Akira rose a brow when he heard a sharp gasp on the other side of the door. He briefly heard the sound of the menu, along with something being materialized. He smirked shaking his head.

"Sasha used to do that too...damn near give me a heart attack the first time." he said, earning a dry chuckle from Kirito. Silica opened the door a second later, her face flushed crimson.

The two teenagers walked into the room, closing the door right after. Silica found a seat on her bed, while Akira remained by the door, leaning back against the wall. Kirito looked around for a second, spotting the table on the other side of the room, he took a hold of it, bringing it closer to the bed.

"What's the table for Kirito?" Silica asked curiously. Akira smirked, digging a hand into his cloak.

"It's for something really cool. Here you can use mine." he said, tossing the device over to his friend, who caught it with ease. Kirito placed it on the table top, pressing the top button.

"What's that? It looks really cool."

"This is what's called a Mirage Sphere. The clearing team uses it to plan all of their raids and boss fights...it has information on every floor in Aincrad, but only up to the floor we're currently clearing." he explained.

"Me and Sasha used it to coordinate our monster hunts, as well as the areas with good monster and item drops. When she passed on, it was left in my storage. I only use it for leveling missions though." Akira admitted.

Kirito continued swiping through it, pulling up the information on the 47th Floor. Akira meanwhile started to fall asleep while leaning against the wall. He had his ears perked up, just in case he would miss something during their conversation.

"So, this is the path to the Hill of Memories. Once we arrive in Floria, I was thinking we could hunt some monsters on the way there. That way you can sharpen your skills a bit." Kirito said. Silica looked at the map, swallowing hard.

"Um...are the monsters strong?" she asked.

"Not really, with the gear we gave you, you should be fine."

Akira's eyes suddenly snapped open when he heard a rustle on the other side of the door. He heard heavy breathing as well. He narrowed his eyes, slowly reaching for the door. Kirito was about to say something, but he must have heard it too, as he had been attentively watching Silica.

"What's wrong?" She suddenly asked.

Akira threw the door open and shot into the hallway, looking toward the stairs. He quickly ran down the hall, vaulting over the banister into the stairwell. He landed in a crouch on the steps leading to the second floor, but he wasn't able to catch anyone. There was an open window beside him and he quickly scrambled to it, looking down into the streets below. Sadly, he didn't see anyone running away. He slammed his fist into the window sill, muttering a swear.

"Akira, did you see him?" Kirito asked, earning a nod from the purple haired lad.

"I did, but he got away through this window." he said, heading back upstairs. Once the two had gotten back to Silica's room, they locked the door tightly.

"What's wrong, why did you run out of here Akira-san?" Silica asked curiously.

"Someone was listening to our conversation." he said.

"What? But that's impossible. You have to knock on the door in order to listen into a players room." Silica said.

"Yes, but if you get your listening skill high enough, you can bypass that. Not a lot of low leveled players do that." Kirito added.

"My listening skill is at level 1000, the max level for any skill in the game. At 900, you'll be able to hear into other people's rooms. It's a dangerous skill, that's lead to many people dying. Especially when they speak of future plans like we just did." Akira said.

"Maybe we should end this here...we've already decided on what we'll do, we can speak more when we reach Floria." Kirito said, turning off the Mirage Sphere. He tossed it back to Akira, who caught it with ease.

"Um...this is going to sound weird but...would one of you please stay with me the night? I know people can't force their way into a room but...I'd feel more comfortable with someone here." Silica said, poking her fingers together. Akira smiled, giving her a nod.

"I'll stay with you...we've shared a room before so it'll be alright. Let's meet up downstairs in the morning, okay?" he said, earning a nod from Kirito.

"See ya guys tomorrow. Try not to keep the other players up tonight, these walls don't block out noise." he said. Akira rose his hand to strike the black haired teen, but only managed so hit the door frame. A violet icon appeared over it, and he just hissed angrily, closing the door and locking it.

"Don't mind him, he's just being a jackass. I'll just sleep on the floor over there." Akira said, moving the table back toward its original spot. He sat down on the ground, opening his menu. He unequipped his sword, cloak, chest plate and armor, remaining in his long sleeved undershirt and his pants. Once he was done, he closed his menu, laying back on the floor, using his arm as a pillow.

"A-Akira-san...you don't h-have to s-sleep on the floor." Silica said, grabbing his attention.

"Where else would I sleep sweetie, there isn't a couch here. And sleeping in that chair would just make me feel like I'm 82 in the morning." he said.

"We can share the bed...I don't want you to sleep on the floor." she said. He looked at her curiously, seeing the vibrant blush on her face. He took a deep breath, glancing at the ceiling.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes...you're my brother right? So I have to be a nice little sister and let you share the bed." she said firmly. He chuckled, standing up from the floor.

"You know Silica, you'd make an awesome older sister. Maybe your parents will get around to making you a little brother." he said, giving her a wink.

"Maybe you can put in a good word for me?" she asked, making a bit of space on the already small mattress.

"Sure, I can do that. Here Mr. and Mrs Silica's parents, you're daughter is looking a little lonely. Why not make her a sibling? Oh the Police? No worries, we're actually good friends!" he said firmly, earning a slap to the chest. He chuckled, settling into the bed.

"I didn't mean it like that. Besides even if they won't have another baby, you can always be my big brother...and I'll always be your little sister." she said. He nodded, letting out a yawn.

"Sure kiddo, you'll always be my sister...no matter...what." he said, slowly drifting to sleep. Silica smiled, waiting a few seconds before kissing his cheek. She settled onto the bed next to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Thank you big brother...I hope you'll always be my brother." she said, drifting off to sleep.

When Akira woke up the next morning, it was still pretty dark. He had already gotten used to Mishe. It was more of a way to trick your mind into thinking it was still night time. It had been hard the first few days, but after that he just looked at his in game clock. He saw that it was already nine in the morning. He felt weight on his chest and looked down, seeing his brown haired friend contently sleeping, using him as a pillow. He smiled a bit, shaking her shoulder.

"Silica, it's time to get up." he said. The girl groaned, hugging him tightly.

"Five more minutes." she said softly.

"Come on sweetie, we have to go revive Pina." he said. She instantly shot up when she heard that. She blinked a few times, letting out a yawn, stretching her small arms.

"Good morning big brother."

"Morning to you too kiddo. Ready to tackle the Kingdom of Floria?" he asked. She gave him an eager nod.

"Okay, I'll step outside so you can change. I'll be downstairs." he said, exiting the room.

Once in the hallway, he quickly equipped all of his armor, choosing to don a brown cloak instead of his usual assassin garb. After all, he didn't want to compromise himself. He started walking downstairs, keeping his eyes peeled for anything. Once there, he met up with Kirito, who was munching on an apple. They exchanged a quite nod, both waiting by the door.

"You ready for this?" he asked curiously.

"Mhmm, we'll be fine. Kind of a shame though, I wanted to use my real sword, but I'll have to deal with this one." he said, materializing a steel sword. It was slightly shorter than his previous sword, being around 40 inches or so. It had a bright green cross-guard, with little blue gems on it. He swung it a few times, before placing it in his scabbard.

"Where'd you get that sword? It looked really cool." Kirito said. Akira shrugged, leaning against the door.

"It was a custom build, using some speed ores I had lying around. There's a girl on Floor 48 who's opening a store soon. Her name is Lisbeth, and she's a master blacksmith. You want a good blade, then she's your gal." he said firmly.

"Hmm, I'll have to speak with her then...I'm in need of a new sword anyway." he said.

"Can I have Elucidator then? I promise to take good care of it."

"Nice try, but I'm still using that one." he said, making the boy frown.

"Thought so, but it begs the question, what could the mysterious Kirito want another sword for? Hmm, is he hiding a secret?" he asked, giving him a catty grin.

"I'm an open book, I got no secrets to share." he said.

"Sure you don't." he replied.

"Good morning Kirito, how are you doing?" Silica said, greeting the black haired teen. He looked up from his menu, looking her over.

She had put on the new armor her had gotten her. It consisted of a black sleeveless undershirt, with a red thread coat over it. She had an iron chest plate over it, keeping a vital spot safe from attacks. She wore a matching black skirt, along with some black stockings and matching red and gold boots. Attached to her back was the dagger Akira had given her. Her hair was tied up in its usual style, but the new armor made her look cuter than before. Both boys nodded.

"I'm doing fine Silica, you look good in that armor." Kirito said.

"Really? Thank you." she said, beaming a bit.

"Alright, let's tackle that dungeon. Remember, hold your brother's hand when your crossing the field!" Akira said, grabbing Silica's hand in his own.

"Akira-san, please you're going to embarrass me!" she cried, earning a chuckle from Kirito.

It wasn't long before the group of three made it up to the 47th Floor. All around them the flowers were in bloom. The main part of Floria consisted of a large flower field, with a beautiful fountain right in the center. Flower petals were drifting through the breeze, filling the area with the scent of blooming flowers. The entire area was filled with couples, something that disappointed Akira quite a lot. He stepped off the teleporter, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Wow, look at all the pretty flowers!" Silica said, looking around excitedly.

"This floor has flowers all over the place. It's been nicknamed by the other players as "The Flower Garden". It's a popular spot for couples." Kirito said. The girl had knelt down in front of some blue flowers, smiling brightly. Some little ladybugs flew around her, buzzing lightly as they passed by.

"Sasha used to love this place. Do you know about the secret event?" Akira asked, earning a no from the black haired teen.

"Not at all, I wasn't aware there was a secret event here." he said.

"Well, if you go to a certain flower field near the Hill of Memories, they'll be a small golden path. If you follow it, it will take you to this field of wild flowers. If two married players go to that flower field and stand right in the middle, it'll trigger a swarm of glowing blue swallow tail butterflies. Argo told me about it, and I took Sasha there on our first month anniversary." he said, a frown on his face.

"Hmm...that's interesting to know...I'll save that for a later date, doubt I'll ever need it though. Hey Akira, are you truly okay being here?" he asked.

"I'm fine...it's just a flower field right?" he asked.

"It might be, but this floor holds memories for you. You don't have to come if you don't feel comfortable."

"Nah, I promised Silica. Besides, it wouldn't be like me to let my little sister down." he said, approaching the patch where the girl was.

"Ready to go kiddo? There's enough time for flowers later." he said.

"Okay, I'll be sure to bring Pina here. She adores flowers!" she said, following the boys down the path. Leaving Floria, the party of three waled down the path, reaching a bridge that went over a river. Kirito stopped, pulling an item out of his pocket.

"Here Silica, there are some tough monsters on this floor. I would feel comfortable if you had this." he said, placing the blue crystals in her hand.

"Teleport Crystals? Oh, these are really expensive, I can't take them!" she exclaimed.

"No, Kirito is right. It never hurts to be prepared, we can always find more. If something goes south, I want you to teleport back to town. Those crystals will take you to any town you want." Akira said.

"Alright, if you say so." she said, placing them in her pouch.

As they continued walking, the trio of friends started admiring the fields. Akira smiled a bit, remembering all of the times he spent chasing Sasha through those fields, smelling all of the flowers and destroying all of the monsters that they had accidentally aggroed. He was about to say something when he saw two thick vines shoot from behind them, wrapping around Silica's ankles. She let out a yelp as she was pulled into the air.

"Gaaaah, help me! But don't look!" the girl cried out.

"It's just a Land Anemone, those are easy to handle. Just stay calm and use your dagger!" Akira said.

"I can't, if I let go my skirt will fall!" she cried, swinging the sword wildly.

"You've got everything you got right there Silica!"

"You mean the power to believe in myself?" she cried.

"No, a knife! Stab it!" Kirito deadpanned. The girl grabbed one of the vines, slicing through it with ease. Cutting through the other one, she let out a scream as she dropped down, activating a Sword Skill, she easily took care of the monster.

"D-Did either of you see?" she asked, glancing at the two boys. Akira hadn't even been paying attention, while Kirito just stood there, a hand on his face.

"I saw nothing." he said.

"Good, good that's great...can we go?" she asked, sheathing her dagger.

"This is going to be fun." Akira muttered, seeing all of the enemies on his map. He knew they were in for a tough day in the field.

Minutes turned into hours, as they all kept walking down the solitary dirt path, taking down all of the enemies in their path. Akira would switch out, letting Silica get all of the experience. She managed to gain two levels doing this, which really made her smile.

After awhile, they had decided to take a break for lunch, and had stopped next to some trees. Akira just munched on a sandwich he bought in town, while Silica brought some stuff she had made the day before.

"Um, Kirito you said you were helping me because I look like your sister right? What's she like?" Silica asked curiously. Akira perked up, swallowing the food in his mouth.

"I forgot you had a sister." he said. Kirito chuckled, glancing at the sky.

"Well, I call her my little sister, but we're actually cousins. My aunt and uncle adopted me after my parents died. I ended up finding out when I was ten years old on some website online. I never told her, and I doubt she even knows.

Our grandfather used to teach Kendo, and we were sort of pulled into it as well. I took it for a few years, but after awhile I just lost interest in it and ended up quitting. My grandfather beat the hell out of me for that. But Sugu, she was so much better at it then me. She told him that she would train hard for the both of us. She ended up making it to nationals that year. I felt a little bad for her though, she could have been doing something else with her life. Hell knows I would, we're I in her shoes." he said. He took a sip from his juice, a frown on his face.

"She probably hates me. She said she was going to yank the Nerve Gear off my head if I missed dinner. She was a terrible cook, but it always made her happy when I ate her food. She must have seen the news, and felt so horrible. I'm a failure as a big brother."

"No you're not." Akira said, catching his attention.

"I agree with Akira, you're sister loves you dearly. She's probably really worried about you, but she knows your strong. That you'll make it out of here. So you have to believe in her, because she believes in you." Silica said, surprising both teens.

"Wow, that's some really powerful stuff kiddo. I'm impressed." Akira said.

"Well...that's just something I learned here in Aincrad. You're the one that taught me not to worry about the real world right? To focus on the here and now, so that we can see our family and friends again." she said.

"I did say that huh...well, that is true. But I sometimes worry about the real world. My father is always away on business, so this must be hurting him a lot. My older sister Alisha had left for America to continue her Nursing courses. I can't imagine what she must have felt, finding this shit out on the news. My mother must have been screaming her head off, especially because she was considering playing the game with me. I'm glad she didn't, I don't think I would have forgiven myself if I lost her." he said.

"You're much stronger than me Akira-san. Especially with your condition, you couldn't do anything in the real world. But here you can do so much! Even, be my big brother!" Silica said, smiling brightly. He blushed, looking away from her.

"Aw come on kid, you're making me blush here." he said.

"What does she mean by that though? What condition?" Kirito asked curiously. Akira finished his sandwich, grabbing his canteen from the ground beside him.

"I was in an accident a few months before SAO launched. I was walking home from school, when this drunk driver ended up running a light. He swerved out of the way of an incoming bus, and ended up hitting me. I wasn't paying attention due to my music, so I didn't even hear him. I just woke up in an ambulance, with a headache and extremely confused. Once I was in the hospital, they told me some vertebrae in my lower back had almost severed my spinal cord." he said.

"You can't walk?" Kirito said, taken aback by this new information. Akira nodded, smiling a bit at the soft breeze that had kicked up.

"Mhmm...can't feel a damn thing. I was depressed forever, my friends left me, my girlfriend said I was useless to her. They just wanted me for my money. Mom ended up moving us to Japan, where dad's side of the family lived. That's when one of the doctors approached her with a new type of surgery. But when SAO started, it was most likely postponed." he said.

"I'm so sorry. It must be so hard for you." Kirito said.

"Not at all, you know why? Because for the first time in my life, I'm free. Free of the burden of the real world, of my duties, of generally everything. My sword is my life, I can go where I want, whenever I want. Sure, I'm probably hooked up to hundreds of machines, most likely pissing through a tube, but as long as I don't die here, I don't have to worry about that." he said happily.

"Thanks for the mental image. I really didn't need to know what our bodies were like IRL." Kirito said, causing Silica to laugh.

"We should get a move on, I want to revive Pina as fast as I can." Silica said. The two boys stood up, putting away their trash.

"Onward, they've taken the flower to Isengard!" Akira shouted, pointing his sword down the path.

"Lord of the Rings, nice!" Kirito said, sharing a fist bump with his friend. Silica rolled her eyes.

The three continued onward, moving through the flower fields with ease. Silica had done an excellent job leveling up, reaching level 47 shortly after they had left their break spot. However they had easily cleared the field of monsters, so they didn't continue leveling up anymore. They reached the end of the path, seeing a small pedestal at the end. Silica gasped, turning to face her friends.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"Yup, that's it alright." Kirito said. She whooped for joy, running toward the pedestal. They all watched as the flower slowly started to bloom, it glowed a brilliant white as each of the flower petals sprouted outward, a little jingle filling the area.

"Alright one down!" Akira said.

"Yeah, wait...what do you mean?" Silica asked, looking at the purple haired boy.

"Well, we're gonna need about fifty more of these suckers, and then we'll go back to town, trade those for a gem, take that gem to a gate keeper. That man will let us into another dungeon, where we'll fight a series of bosses to get the real flower." he replied.

"What? Who designed a game like that?" the girl cried out. Akira cleared his throat, adopting a firm look on his face.

"You don't...play a lot of RPGs do you?" he asked.

"Stop messing around Satan, he's just pulling your chain Silica, that's the real flower. Go on and pick it." Kirito said, patting the girl on the head.

"Aw come on man, way to spoil my fun. I had her going and everything!" he said.

"Don't be mean to your little sister Akira, it isn't nice." he scolded, earning a grumble from the boy. Silica finally picked the flower, reading the window that had popped up.

"Item obtained, Pneuma Flower...this will really revive Pina?" she asked, looking at Kirito.

"Yup, there are a lot of tough enemies on the way to town. So let's wait to revive her." he suggested. She nodded, placing the flower in her inventory. Akira glanced over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes a bit. He shook it off, adopting a smile on his face.

"Alright, let's head back to town! Maybe we can make it back by sundown!" he said joyously, happily walking back to the town. Silica looked at him oddly, earning a shrug from Kirito.

As they all headed back to town however, they kept their guard up. Silica was happily looking at the pretty flowers, while Kirito pretended to be disinterested. Akira knew it was just a front, like the one he was putting up. They had been followed the entire time, and knew that it wouldn't be long until they were ambushed. Once they reached the bridge, Akira held his arm out, stopping Silica in her tracks. He nodded to Kirito, who looked at the trees.

"Whoever is out there, come out now." he said firmly.

"Huh? There's someone out there?" Silica asked. Akira shushed her, his look becoming quite serious. He heard a chuckle, along with movement ahead of them. The familiar looking redhead walked out, holding her spear tightly in her hands.

"You're detection skill must be quite high if you head me swordsmen, I commend you."

"Rosalia, what are you doing here?" Silica asked curiously.

"Hey there Silica, it's nice to see you. I can tell you got the Pneuma Flower safe and sound. Now hand it over before someone gets hurt!" she said, aiming her spear forward.

"You're funny, you actually think we'd hand that item over? Get real, why don't you tell me who you truly are." Akira said, crossing his arms. The woman smirked.

"So, you saw through my act? No...both of you did. How did you know I was the leader of Titan's Hand?" she asked.

"Tch...Titan's Hand? I thought you guys were someone more dangerous like Laughing Coffin, never even heard of you." Akira taunted, causing her to get angry.

"You like tricking people into partying with you, but in reality you're after their items and money. You're leading a guild of Player Killers." Kirito said, ignoring Akira's statement.

"What, but her cursor is green!" Silica said.

"A cleaver rouse. The green players find the suitable targets, and lead them to the orange players. She wasn't just targeting you, she was targeting anyone who partied up with her." Akira replied.

"So you mean, that time in the Forest...?"

"That's right, I was watching those players rack up that delicious money. You were one of my high profile targets Silica, but you ended up leaving. It was such a shame, but when you told me that you were reviving your lizard, I couldn't help but follow you here. And now we'll get that rare item from you." she said.

"Who? Little old you is going to take it from us? That'd be a neat trick!" Akira said, holding back his laugh.

"Laugh it up all you want, we're still one of the most feared orange guilds on the lower floors. You act so tough, but you're hiding the fact that you're a frail little boy on the inside. You're hiding from the real you, a boy who's a weak excuse of a person. Sword Art Online is the best thing that ever happened to you!" Rosalia snapped, aiming her spear at him.

"You're right, SAO is the best thing that happened to me. And you're right, I am a weak frail boy in the real world. I'm nothing more than a useless cripple, suffering from doubts of depression. But you wanna know something I'm not? A murderer, a thief, a vagrant. I'm not some woman who uses my charms to grab the first man I can find, so I can steal his shit. What does that say about you Rosalia? You're nothing more than a shrew, a used up rag on the towel rack of life. Someone who will die at a given moment and no one will mourn. So why don't you come at me, before I destroy you and your buddies hiding behind those trees." he said, drawing his blade from his back.

"Grr...you...I'll show you...men, get to battle! Steal all of their stuff, kill them all!" Rosalia cried angrily. Akira noticed the seven players from before, now Orange Players, walked out from behind the trees.

"I'll handle this, you protect Silica alright Akira? I know you're pissed off, but you won't be able to handle this properly." Kirito said, walking forward, drawing his sword.

"Fine Kirito, you get your moment to shine." the purple haired boy said, frowning a bit.

"Kirito, I've heard that name before. No way, a black coat, one handed sword and no shield. This kid is the beater, the one that plays on the Frontlines!" one of the men said.

"What? What would a Front Liner be doing here? Just hurry up and kill him." Rosalia shouted.

"Um...I'm not sure boss. His friend thought he was going up against Laughing Coffin, but still brought just himself and a small child. Maybe we shouldn't mess with them." another man said.

"You're all level forty five. Just get him already!"

The men nodded, hesitantly activating their sword skills. They all ran forward, slashing the teenager all over the place. Long slashes were left on Kirito's body, but he didn't even move. Silica moved forward, hand on her dagger. Akira held her back, shaking his head.

The men finally stopped, panting for breath as they finished their onslaught. Kirito nodded to himself, biting his lower lip.

"436 points, that's how much damage you guys did to me in ten seconds, give or take. My battle healing replenishes 600 HP points in Ten seconds. I have 17,500 HP points. We can stand here all day and you wouldn't get anywhere." he said firmly.

"What, that's impossible. You're HP can't be that high, fat chance in hell!" the man wielding the two axes shouted.

"Actually buddy, it is possible. Kirito and I are both Level 82...MMO's with a level system are unfair that way. If you get to a high enough level, you're basically untouchable. We're like a god to you little tomagachis. Sadly, you all became the lambs of a sour old bitch who wanted to make money the easy way." Akira said, walking forward. The men all moved away from them as he stood next to Kirito. He held up a crystal, which was glowing a brilliant blue.

"Ten days ago, your guild attacked a small guild known as the Silver Flags. The leader spent hours going from the warp point to the Front Lines, begging everyone he saw to get revenge for his fallen friends. He didn't want me to kill you, no he wanted me to toss you in jail. So be good little tomagachis and line up." he said firmly.

"Oh...oh yeah, we'll I'm green, and if you attack me, you'll go orange! You can't hurt me!"

Kirito dashed forward in the blink of an eye, appearing right in front of the woman, blade at her neck. She stood there, shocked at his speed. She swallowed hard, the cold steel of his sword pressed against her virtual flesh. He glared right into her eyes, a firm look on his face.

"I'm a solo player...I don't give a shit if I play as orange for a few days. Give up, I would hate to hurt you."

"You win, swordsman." she said, dropping her spear.

With the help of Silica, all of the orange players and Rosalia were tied up, and taken the the Black Iron Palace, being handed to one of the guards. Once they ensured they were in prison, the three of them warped back to the 35th Floor, returning to Silica's inn room. Akira sighed as he sat beside the girl, who was just staring at the ground. He took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry Silica, I would have told you everything but...I was afraid Rosalia would hear. It was wrong of us to use you as bait." he said.

"Yes, I'm sorry too...I was worried, if we told you, that you would be scared and refuse to go with us." Kirito added.

"No, it's alright...you helped me out so much. So it was okay if you used me to help others. As long as Rosalia is behind bars, it's fine." she said.

"I sent a message to Sapphira, that kid is a blubbering mess right now. He sends his regards, along with his words of thanks." Akira said, closing the window before him.

"Wonderful, how about we revive Pina eh?" Kirito said. Silica nodded and stood up, walking to the table. She materialized Pina's heart, along with the Pneuma Flower. Her hands shook as she hovered the plant over the feather, a small dew drop falling onto the feather. They all watched with rapt attention as Pina was returned to life.

Xxx

"And that's how the Dragonborn of Legend got her dragon back." Akira said, finishing up the story.

"Aw, it's so cute! So that's why you didn't want to date Silica, because she's your little sister!" Rain cried.

"Well yeah, plus it would be weird. Like I said, she's so much younger than I am. She's fifteen now, and I'm already seventeen, eighteen in about a month." Akira said.

"Age is but a number, but I do agree. Besides, I want you all to myself, unless you want to invite Yoga Pants over."

"Yolko, jeez. And I'm getting to her, don't worry." he said, making the girl giggle.

They stopped in front of a house, that had a for sale sign in front of it. It was a rather large house, on the north side of Yggdrasil City. It had two stories on it, and the outside walls were painted a lavender color, with yellow paint around the corners. The window sills were a bright green color, along with the doors. It had a large fenced yard, and a cute little flower bed. It also had a brick chimney, which meant it had a fireplace. Akira smiled, walking over to the door.

"This place looks good, and it's really cheap too, only three million Yrd!" he said.

"Three million, you consider that cheap?" Rain snapped.

"Sorry, I forget, you aren't filth rich like I am." he said, flicking his hair behind his ear.

"Alright, no need to become a pretentious douche bag, let's check the house on the inside." she said.

"We can't do that, in order for me to see if it's a good house I have to feel it, and in order for that I have to buy it." he said.

"Right, I forgot...will it be okay?" she asked.

"It'll be perfect, especially because I'll have my beautiful girlfriend decorating it for me." he said. She smiled, kissing his cheek.

"I'll do my best!" she said.

"Great, let's go ahead and buy it!" he said, pressing the purchase menu.

He put in the funds and hit accept, the keys materializing in his hand. He was a home owner again, and he couldn't wait to get inside. He was a bit tired from walking all day, plus he was also starting to get hungry. He just hoped Rain had leveled up her Cooking Skills.


	20. Aincrad Arc: Yup This is a Thing

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to a new chapter of Sword Art Online.**

 **In the last chapter we finished Silica's little mission, and brought Akira a bit closer to her honorary older brother, not just for the rest of SAO but for the rest of her life. He made a heavy impact on her, and she considers him a precious person in her life. I found myself feeling a little bad for Silica as I wrote this...she's 12, wanted to play SAO to make friends, ended up getting stuck in it for two years, and on top of that is an only child. I'm just glad her parents love her very much and she has Pina. Well she has everyone else in SAO so she isn't alone anymore, but still I do feel slightly bad for her.**

 **Anyway, in this chapter...Akira will face the greatest SAO boss ever created, while meeting another one of his love interests. I hope you all like this chapter, and forgive me for what I have done and or made canon in my story...have a nice day.**

 **Check out Chapter 18 of The End of Hope's Peak Academy if your following that story, I just updated it, so tell me how I did...or virtually spit in my face, whatever tickles your boat...**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 20

Sheeptar's Onslaught

Akira had to admit, the house he had bought had been the best use of three million Yrd ever. It was a rather spacious dwelling, and had that, "It's bigger on the Inside" feel to it. It has a lavish looking living room, with hard wood floors in a polished oak. It had a large leather couch, along with a pair of love seats on either end. In the middle was a glass coffee table, with a round blue rug on it. In front of it was a large screen television, which would allow them to watch real world programs, and even tune into in game programs, which were becoming the norm in MMOs. Behind them was a large bar, with several stools in front of it, it also doubled as the kitchen, as the gas stove was behind the counter.

The bedrooms we're upstairs, and the house featured five of them, the biggest one having a built in bathroom. Even though people really didn't need them, they were still added to give the house a real world feel. The most alluring thing was the brick fireplace located on the other side of the living room.

Nice colored red bricks made up the mantle and most of the upper wall. There was a fire screen in front of the fireplace itself, along with all of the iron pokers. There was even a bundle of wood, ready to be used. Overall, it was a very beautiful house, that Akira was sure to make full use of during his three day stay in ALO.

Rain had already stationed herself at the kitchen, wanting to make some food for him before she eventually had to log out. She told him to leave her alone while she cooked so she could surprise him. He was actually surprised when he brought up the Cooking Skill, because she had apparently mastered it during her time in Aincrad. He could only hope they got lucky enough to find a Ragout Rabbit somewhere.

He sat down at the couch, sighing contently. It didn't take him long to actually lie down on it. He glanced up at the ceiling, humming to himself. He had lost himself in thought, mostly about what he was going to do. He had forgotten all about Hayato since he had met Rain, but the man had been drilling him constantly, telling him if he didn't give him his items, that he would do something to him in the real world. Thankfully, he hadn't kept up on his threats so he was sure the boy was just full of it. But knowing what he was capable of, it didn't really ease his mind in the slightest.

"Hey Akira, I got a question for you, do you sing?" Rain asked, causing him to sit up. He glanced at her, brows furrowed.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you were humming Bells of Notre Dame. I was just curious, you know since I want to be an idol and all." she said. She set her utensils aside, her eyes focused on her task.

"I used to sing a lot when I was younger. My first girlfriend Jessica loved my music...but after my accident, she just started saying my music changed. I mean, I agree with her. All my songs were about my crippling depression, it was the only way I could cope. But then she just said she couldn't be seen dating someone who couldn't walk. It would be too embarrassing for her." He admitted. Rain ended up dropping one of the plates in her hand, which immediately burst into polygons, disappearing from sight. He frowned, shaking his head.

"Hey now, I'm short by one plate." he said.

"How could...how could someone be so fucked up?" she asked, slamming her hands on the counter. Akira stood up, walking toward the kitchen.

"I don't know, but that's something I don't worry about. Jessica was really materialistic. Besides I was fourteen, I didn't know what love was, at least until SAO. She just wanted me for my money, a poisonous relationship."

"Still, a person shouldn't be so disgusting. Was this here or in America?" she asked.

"Here, she ended up transferring as an exchange student, but her family moved here permanently. After SAO started, she moved to Okinawa and I haven't heard from her since. Good riddance in my opinion, besides I got better girls, the three that I've dated since her have treated me way better then she ever did." he said. Rain blushed brightly, glancing away from him.

"Am I one of those three?" she asked.

"Mhmm, you actually gave a shit about me and wanted to know my story. Sasha taught me the value of friendship, and to not fear death even if it can come at you at any time. And Yolko...well she taught me something else." he said, a blush on his face.

"Oh my, you and Yolko...were intimate?" she asked.

"Yeah, a lot." he replied.

"Wow, I didn't think you were one for doing _that._..so often."

"Well, it wasn't always but she did enjoy our alone time. Maybe I should explain how we met in the first place. And how I discovered the truth about her friend. Remember that woman Laughing Coffin was going to kill?" he asked.

"Yes, I remember...wait...was she one of Yolko's friends?" Rain asked.

"Yup, and though we started dating in order for her to get me to find out the truth, we did have an intimate connection."

"Why did you two break up then? If you had such a good connection?" She asked curiously. Akira hummed to himself, tilting his head in thought.

"Let's just say, she wasn't sure of what could happen. While we did want to continue dating, she was scared that either one of us could die at any given time. She didn't want to face the burden of being the one alive instead of me, so we broke it off. I tried going out with her a few times, but our schedules didn't meet up. Now you understand why I was so depressed when we met?" he asked.

"Yes, it was multiple variables, SAO, you're condition, loosing Sasha and being unable to see Yolko again." Rain said.

"But even when I felt depressed, I always had our happy memories to reflect on." he said, grinning brightly.

Xxx

 _(March 1_ _st_ _2024 Location: Poni Floor 56)_

Akira sighed as he trudged along the mountain path before him. He and his friends, along with several clearing parties were heading up toward a safe zone within the Poni Mountains. The 56th Floor had been reached not long after he and Kirito dealt with Titan's Hand, a few days after in fact. The clearing team had been steadily working to clear the floor, until they reached an impasse. The information on the boss was incomplete until they defeated one of three field bosses. Two of them had been defeated and now they were planning on dealing with the third.

The 56th Floor was expansive. Even with it being one of the higher floor, it was still really big, four kilometers wide or so. It was covered mostly in lush fields and rough mountain areas. Spelunkers and Ore Miners had been quite happy when they reached this place. It had made their jobs much easier, especially since most of the diamond mines on the 54th Floor had been mined clean, and would take awhile for them to spawn new ores.

He took a deep breath, sighing contently at the scent of the fresh mountain air. He still didn't know exactly how Kayaba was able to program scent, but he didn't really care right now.

"Ugh, this shit fucking blows." Nick cried out, groaning a bit as he walked. Akira chuckled, shaking his head.

The boy had gotten himself a brand new armor set. Rather than being a dark obsidian like before, this one was a polished gray color, having been made with some iron ore. It had a thick armored chest plate with layers of armor underneath. He wore thick shoulder pads, each bearing his personal crest, an Eagle head. He was wearing thick leg armor, which had various plates of armor on them in the front and back, along with some armored boots. Attached to his back was his Two Handed Great Sword, a brand new one the boy had called Glittering Death. It had been made with some of the diamonds he had mined on the 54th Floor.

"Maybe you shouldn't have worn all of that heavy armor." Sapphira teased, earning a glare from the boy.

Like him, she had traded in her armor for a new set. She wore a sleeveless green shirt, that only went down to just below her breasts. She wore a light chest plate over her chest, leaving her midriff completely exposed. She was wearing a blue leather belt, lined with diamond shards. She was wearing a brown colored skirt, with long stockings and long green leather boots. Attached to her hip was a Diamond sword, which had been a boss drop for the mid level boss on the 55th Floor. Akira rolled his eyes.

"Come on you two, we agreed to do this while Aries and Morrison handled the other quests in town. We're the best fighters on the clearing team, so we have to be here for this." Akira said, resting his hand on his sword. He had been wearing his usual armor again, the polished lavender plates seemingly making all who passed him jealous. He looked like a true assassin, and that had lead Nick to call him Ezio on various occasions.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." the knight muttered, a frown on his face. Akira sighed but said nothing. He knew if he did, Nick would come up with a witty retort that would just piss everyone off.

He looked around at the other players, most of them were lost in conversation, speaking about some quest or comparing weapons and stats. The clearing team was filled with people who could trust each other, so most didn't mind sharing their player data, others like him we're wary. Since he was technically a Solo player, his information was very valuable, especially with his moniker.

Among the other players, he spotted some familiar faces. Some of the people he had helped train had finally made it to the Front lines. He waved at them and they eagerly waved back, smiles on their faces. It wouldn't be long until he saw Silica up there, he mused.

His eyes landed on another person, a young woman that seemed to be around his age. She was a bit shorter than him, but not by a lot, a few centimeters give or take. She was wearing a light blue tunic, with long sleeves that left part of her shoulders exposed. She wore a light chest plate over it. She was wearing a tight pair of black pants, along with a pair of brown leather boots. Around her waist was a belt that held a one handed long sword. Her dark, almost violet hair was blowing in the breeze. She was speaking to the man next to her, most likely one of her friends. Akira smiled a bit, but when she looked at him he quickly looked away, finding the trees more interesting.

"Akira, something wrong? You're face is flushed like a cherry bro." Nick said.

"Nothing is wrong man, probably something I ate." the boy replied. Sapphira looked at him, stroking her chin.

"Something you ate eh? I doubt it, you were staring at that girl over there quite closely." she said, glancing at the blue haired girl. Nick caught her gaze, eyes widening.

"Daham, she's a babe. What, you got your eyes set on her?" the black haired teen asked.

"Not in the slightest. She's a looker sure, but I'm not sure if I can date again, besides that guy next to her is most likely her boyfriend." he said, glancing at the brown haired man next to the girl.

"Actually he's not. His name is Caynz, he used to be in another guild but he didn't say anything about it. He's been helping the KoB for awhile now. The girl's name is Yolko, aside from her swiftness and battle and quickness with a sword, nothing really stands out." Sapphira added.

"A sword user huh? I pegged her for the rapier, that one is well liked by a lot of female players." Akira added.

"Yes, well not all of us like using a 17th Century fencing sword. I would rather take the role of the knight and use my trusty blade." Sapphira added.

"Yes I know, I like playing the assassin though, but I like my sword too." he said, placing his hand at his waist where his sword was.

"Speaking of that, why aren't you using that other sword you got? Too flashy?" the girl asked.

"I'm not ready to use that in public, the armor is alright since everyone just assumes it was player made. I just don't want to attract too much attention to myself."

"Attracting attention to yourself is the best part of having high class armor. It makes it more fun." Nick added.

"Yeah, but the difference between you and me is that I can actually run in my armor. You can't run for shit!"

"Of course, I'm a tank not a glass cannon." the boy deadpanned.

It wasn't long before they all reached the safe zone.

It was located within a cavern, underneath a mountain. The main chamber was rather big, and it had two other paths that lead into a dungeon. All of the players filed in, the party leaders stepping up to the stone table. The Knights of the Blood Oath had already set up, and had been speaking among themselves. Asuna looked up after everyone had shown up, giving a silent nod of greeting.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Godfree, one of the higher members of the KoB asked.

"If by everyone, you mean anyone who foolishly wants to fight this thing, then yes we're all here." Akira said, earning a slap to the shoulder from Sapphira.

The boy didn't know why, but he had become rather snarky as of late. Ever since he had beat the Grand Quest, he had become slightly irritable. He had finally accepted his fate of being in this game, and was truly enjoying himself for the first time in months. Sapphira had apparently said that he had let his power get over his head, which lead to him becoming a bit of a douche. He didn't care, as long as he got the job done in the end. Besides, he was too strong for anyone to defeat, unless he was paralyzed and stabbed to death. He shivered at the thought.

"Right, well let's begin this strategy meeting. As you all know, in order to reach Floor 56's labyrinth, we need to defeat three mid level bosses to get access to the bridge. We've already defeated two of them, and we sent a party to scout the third and final one. Sadly, they...didn't make it." She said.

"What happened to them?" Lind, the leader of the DDA asked curiously. Asuna remained silent, letting Godfree speak.

"Actually, we're not sure ourselves. When we went to search for them, all we found was scraps of melted armor and a message written in a tree." he said.

"A...message written a tree?" Nick asked curiously.

"Uh...what did the message say?" someone asked curiously.

"We're not sure, it was in Spanish."

"Goddamn it, can we just move on with the actual strategy meeting then?" Akira snapped. Asuna looked at him, giving him a nod.

"Alright, thanks to the information that we got before we lost contact with the search party, the Boss is named...Sheeptar the Sheep King. He has five HP bars and can spit acid from his mouth. He also likes climbing walls for whatever reason."

"I'm sorry what? Did you just say this boss was called Sheeptar?" Sapphira asked, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Yeah I know, if it didn't already kill one of us, I would say this is a really stupid boss." Klein replied, a frown on his face.

"Man, Kayaba must have snorted quite a bit of Coke when he was programming this shit. That's for sure." Akira muttered, earning glares from the others.

"Anyway, with the information we have, I developed a simple strategy. Since it's a mid level boss, we can lure it to one of the fields here. If we can get it close to the town, we can have it eat the NPCs while we attack it from the back." Asuna said.

"You want to sacrifice NPCs to beat this boss? I don't know about you but I don't feel comfortable doing that. I mean they look and act like real people, wouldn't that be murder?" Nick asked curiously.

"Would you like to fight the thing on your own then?" Lind asked.

"Now now, no need to be a dick about it. I agree with him, we can't just sacrifice NPCs. There has to be a better solution to this...I mean it's a sheep right? Maybe we can just...give it some grass or something?"

"Yes Akira, because feeding the acid spitting Sheep grass is going to save us in the end." Sapphira replied, shaking her head.

"Oh well if you're so fucking versed on defeating acid spitting sheep, then you come up with a plan. Come on, we're all listening!" he cried back.

"Fine dick head, there's a field right here that we can abuse. There's no trees for miles so he won't climb and all we have to do is keep it here and avoid its acid spit. We get tanks to block the exit, use the speed and agility players to deal fast damage and send the swordsmen in when people need healing. We switch and rotate until the fucker is dead." she said, slamming her fist against the table.

"Thank you, you did our job for us. We have a plan, let's go!" Akira said.

"Wait a minute, there are some flaws in that plan." Kirito said, placing a hand on Akira's shoulder. He was a bit amused at how he as handling the situation, but he also wanted this boss to be taking care of.

"Mind telling us what they are?" Asuna asked curiously. She thought it was an excellent plan, but if it had flaws then they needed to address them.

"Using the field is a very good idea, but aggroing it all the way there will be an issue. We'd need tanks on the path so that it doesn't stray off. We would also need some way to keep it in the field other than using tanks to block the path. Remember it can climb walls so it's jumping skills must be really good. It's a good plan, but I just wanted to put that out there." he said.

"Hmm...I didn't think about that, thanks for catching that for me man. It would have been really bad if it jumped over all of us." Akira admitted, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Looks like we'll need to rethink this. Is anyone willing to go out and scout it? We'll need to see its parameters so that we can plan accordingly." Asuna said. No one said a thing, not wanting to go on a suicide mission.

"Nose goes!" Sapphira cried, in a second, everyone was touching their noses. Akira who was lost in thought glanced around the room, quickly seeing what was going on. His eyes widened in shock.

"Oh fuck you guys. Fuck all y'all!"

"Come on man, take one for the team." Nick said.

"Screw you, I'm not going to fight Sheeptar the Sheep King so I can get some information. I could very well die!" he cried.

"No you can't, you get legendary armor after all." Lind said, a sneer on his face. Everyone looked at Akira, who inhaled deeply, sucking his teeth.

"Fine, I'll bring you a souvenir." he said, bowing to the ones present.

He took a quick look at the map before exiting the cavern. He glared at the others as he left, making sure they all felt his hatred. Once he was out of the cave, he opened his menu and unequipped his current weapon, equipping Shiva's Heart onto his back. He also equipped his arm guards and shin guards, just in case he needed them. Finally satisfied, he closed the menu, walking down the beaten path toward Sheeptar's last known location.

"I can't believe this shit, who the hell names a boss Sheeptar? Why the hell does it have to be me that has to scout the damn thing. Granted I'm level 85, but come on why does it have to be me?" he said, kicking the virtual dust at his feet.

"Excuse me, could you please wait up?"

Akira stopped in his tracks, swiftly turning around. His eyes widened a bit when he got a full look at the one who had called out to him. It was the girl from before, the one he had been glancing at on his way to the meeting. She stopped a few feet away from him, panting a bit. She straightened up, looking directly into his eyes. Akira had to admit, she had beautiful eyes, but he doubted they were like that in real life.

"What's up miss? You need help or something?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was just curious as to why she even followed him.

"Would you mind partying up? I felt bad that you had to go find Sheeptar on your own." she said. He blinked a few times, glancing over his shoulder.

"Well, I wouldn't mind teaming up with you, except this boss sounds tough. I don't want you to get hurt." he said.

"I can take care of myself, besides...I just need to get away from here right now. It was unfair what Sapphira did to you."

"Tch...that bitch does way worse to me on a daily basis, no need to worry. But if you wanna party up, I guess I can't stop you." he said, opening his menu. He sent her the request, which she instantly accepted.

"My name is Yolko, it's nice to meet you Violet Assassin."

"Akira, only those who fear the darkest pits of hell call me that." he said, shaking her hand.

"Seriously?"

"No not really...I just think it's a stupid moniker. I haven't killed anyone nor am I a contract killer, and yet they call me this. Do you happen to know where Sheeptar is?" he asked.

"Not really, I do have the map data though." she said, sending him the information. He nodded, placing a waypoint at the last known location the beast was in.

"Alright, rule of thumb before we do this. We're only checking out it's parameters, we're not playing the hero card. If your HP gets below the green, you teleport back to Poni and wait for me there." he said firmly.

"Understood, I'll just follow you then." she said, earning a nod from the teenager. He rested his hand on his waist as they walked.

It was strangely silent, only the buzz of the bugs filled the area and the sound of the soft breeze. The main enemies for the 56th Floor varied, it would either be cattle, or very powerful Ram's for some reason. But there were also some Locusts and Praying Mantis that seemed to be the easiest things to slay. He had grown a single level just by farming the respawn points. It was a bit of a hassle, so he hadn't done it often. He just wanted this day to be over so he could go take a nap. He yawned, stretching his arms above his head, resting them on his head. Honestly, this had been the most bored he had been that week.

"Are you tired Akira? We could always come back tomorrow. The others said we could meet up another day with our findings." Yolko said, glancing at the purple haired teen. He shook his head, his eyes on the path ahead of him.

"As much as I would love to bail on this mission, I can't. The faster I get this information, the faster I can go home. I haven't been sleeping well for awhile." he said.

"Sleep troubles? I usually drink some tea before going to bed, it helps calm me down." she replied.

"No that's not it either. I can sleep just fine, you see there's this glitch on Floor 52 that will spawn a Golden Chicken. If you can kill it in under a minute, you'll get this really sweet ring that boosts all of your stats by 20%." he said.

"How did you discover that?" she asked curiously.

"It was an accident really. I was wondering around the fields for something to kill when I saw one of the trees start shaking. I struck it with my sword and burst into polygons, but the animation got frozen. That's when the Chicken spawned. I killed it the first time and sold the ring thinking it was a glitched item. But then my friend told me that it was a legitimate item and that I was a fool for selling it." he said.

"So you went back there to get the item back?" she asked.

"Yup, three days and three nights, only sleeping for about six hours a day. I've been hitting that tree over and over again. I think the glitch got patched though, but I'm not giving up until I get that ring back." he said firmly.

Yolko remained silent, not exactly knowing what to say. On one hand, it was extremely stupid of someone to stay up for hours on end striking a tree for an item. On the other, she had to admire his dedication. Besides, if she had the chance to get herself that ring, she would do anything for it. At the thought of a ring, she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She really didn't want to remember what had happened to her friend the last time a ring was found.

"What would you do if you couldn't get that ring?" she asked. It was more of a test question than anything. The boy shrugged, not really giving it much thought.

"I'll move on. Sure it would be nice to have that ring, but it was my dumb ass fault for now checking the information on it. I'd probably just hunt some other glitches, see if I can find something else." he said.

"Interesting, but...what if that ring was very valuable? What if it was an item that you just have to have. Would you go as far as killing for it?"

He stopped in his tracks, looking the girl right in the eye. Yolko froze in place, not really knowing what to do. She didn't like the look he was giving her. It was one of anger and annoyance.

"I would never kill anyone for anything. If I found that ring and then lost it, then it's on me. I wouldn't track down the person who bought or had it to kill them. That's just messed up. Why would you even ask that, is there something you want to tell me?" he asked.

"No no, not at all. Let's just focus on the mission okay?" she asked.

With that the two fell into a forced silence. Akira didn't exactly know how to go about interacting with the girl. It looked as if she was holding something back, something deep within her that had scarred her for life. Before he even got the chance to speak, he felt something in his search radius. He took a hold of her hand, and pulled her toward the trees. He silenced her even before she said something. He looked around, narrowing his eyes a bit.

It wasn't long before the creature they were looking for made its appearance. It was a ghastly looking thing, with three heads, each having two sharp looking thorns. Every mouth was dripping with foam, as if it was suffering from rabies. Its wool was black and mattered, instead of being white and fluffy like most sheep. Its hind legs were bulging and pulsing with muscles, the hooves were thick and looked rather sharp. Rows upon rows of teeth could be seen inside the mouth of each head, as it growled in anger. Sheeptar's was truly a terrifying creature.

"I can see why seven people died to this thing." Yolko said, earning a hiss from Akira.

"What's your weapon type?" he asked.

"Huh? It's an estoc, why?" she asked.

"Alright, so you can use Rapier skills. While I draw aggro, you attack it from the back, and see how it reacts. Remember what I said before, your HP hits the yellow, you get out of here." he said. She nodded, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

"What are you going to do though?" she asked. He smirked taking a step forward. In a blinding flash, he closed the distance, slashing the giant sheep's front legs. It roared in pain, its eyes focusing right on Akira.

"Alright Sheeptar, let's dance! I hear wool sweaters are the shit!" he said, dashing forward, he swung his sword in an upward arc, using a Vertical for some quick damage. He rolled out of the way, slashing at its legs.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Yolko dashed forward, drawing her own weapon. She rounded behind the giant sheep, activating Flashing Penetrator. In a blinding slash, hundreds of tiny little holes were left on Sheeptar's thigh. Her body locked up, but thankfully the creature had seemingly ignored her. Akira dashed away from its faces, avoiding large globs of acid.

"Whoa, that shit almost hit me." he cried out, watching the patch of grass dissolve near his feet.

Sheeptar roared loudly, its three heads looking straight up. It stood up on its hind legs, its front legs bulked up a bit as well. Akira just started at it, slack jawed at what he was seeing. He noticed one of its HP bars had disappeared, leaving it with four. It rose its back leg, stomping the ground with enough force to cause a small quake.

"What the fuck?" he shouted, flipping out of the way.

"Okay, now I really get why the scouts died!" Yolko added.

"We don't really need to know that right now Yoga Pants, switch with me while I set up!" he cried.

"What did you just call me?" she cried, glaring right at Akira.

"Just switch!" he called back. She grumbled under her breath, drawing aggro onto herself. Once she had she drew the creature away from Akira.

He knelt down, pulling his sword behind his back. It started to swirl with ice as he activated one of his elemental sword skills. Thanks to his Ice Magic skill, he had unlocked another palette for his sword skills. Since he had finally mastered one handed sword, he was able to combine his magic and sword skills, allowing him to unleash stronger attacks. Once the skill was ready, he shot forward running so fast a gale blew behind him. He jumped into the air, slashing the sword across its back.

"Freezing Slant!" he shouted. Thick spikes of ice exploded from the attack, causing visible damage to the creature. Akira landed on the ground, rolling onto his feet. Without wasting a second he raced back at the creature, slamming his sword into its chest, back and forth, wisps of ice floating around his blade. Sheeptar roared in anger and spat more acid at him, which he easily dodged.

"What the hell...what kind of skill was that?" Yolko cried, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"I'll explain later, for now let's keep doing damage." he said.

"I thought you just wanted to gather information on it?" she asked.

"Yeah but I changed my mind...wanna level up?" he asked, giving her a grin. Her eyes widened a bit, looking at him in disbelief. He shrugged, not wasting another second.

"Phantom Rave!" he shouted, activating his Ultimate Skill. He grabbed his sword firmly, swinging it two and fro, tendrils of red energy flying in all directions. He let out a shout as he swung the sword upward, spinning on his heel, he growled driving the tip of the blade into the creature. Its third bar disappeared, its HP dropping to half of the second one.

"Switch!" he cried, the post skill motion having frozen him in place. Yolko nodded to herself and raced forward, using her own skill to draw away the giant acid spitting sheep.

"This is insane. I'm fighting a giant acid spitting sheep, alone with no back up." she cried out. She stepped back, tripping on her own feet. She cried out, having let go of her sword. Sheeptar stood above her, a sneer on its faces as it prepared an acid attack. She let out a scream, blocking her face with her arms. The sound of a skill activating filled her ears as Akira shot past her, driving his sword into Sheeptar's chest.

"Vertical Square!" he cried out, unleashing another of his stronger skills.

He swung his sword across, slashing downward. He spun on his heel, slashing across before finishing with an upward slash, a violet square formed from the energy, exploding outward. Sheeptar howled in pain, the scream was nothing short of demonic as each head screamed in agony. It stomped its legs onto the ground, shaking the entire area. Akira backed away from the creature, his eyes falling on Yolko's sword. He smirked and dashed toward it, snagging it from the ground. Sheeptar hocked a glob of spit at him, dashing forward he slashed the spit in half with easy, driving the tip of the estoc into its chest. He spun on his heel, activating a Horizontal.

"Yolko, take it!" he cried, throwing her weapon right back at her.

She easily caught it, spinning it in her hand. She dashed forward with great speed, unleashing her own ultimate skill. The two traded blows, doing heavy damage on the ghastly creature. With a nod, Akira backed off, allowing Yolko to take the final hit. Sheeptar let out an inhuman screech, bursting into polygons. The congratulations banner appeared in front of the two, finally letting them breathe easy.

"Man, that was a bit tougher than I thought. Fucking acid spitting sheep." Akira said, sheathing his sword. The level up jingle filled his ears and he glanced at Yolko who was smiling a bit.

"I'm level 60 now, thanks to you." she said happily.

"Sure, I don't mind helping people level up. Did you get anything?" he asked.

"I got...Sheeptar's Juicy Thigh...ew." she said, face scrounging up at the sound of it. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I don't think anyone wants to eat that shit. But who knows, lamb meat is the best in the world. It might actually taste good." he said.

"I think I'm good. But I have various questions now...what was that skill that you unleashed? You took down an entire HP bar with it." she said.

"Oh that...well, don't tell anyone but...I have a Unique Skill." he said.

"What? You unlocked one of those special skills? I hear there are only twelve of them in game. Commander Heathcliff supposedly has one." she said.

"Divine Blade, I haven't seen it in action yet. But I have a friend who explained it to me, apparently he uses his Shield to attack instead of his sword." he said.

"Yes, but what exactly is your Unique Skill?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard the rumors about the Grand Quest right? Well I was the one that completed it. My Unique Skill is called, Shiva's Ice. It allows me to use Ice Magic, not only that but if I use the sword I got from that quest, I'll be able combine the ice with my sword skills. It's a totally broken skill." he said.

"Ice Magic? But Sword Art Online doesn't have any magic, how can you even get it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but I was the only one able to take the Grand Quest, so It's safe to assume only one person can get it. One that was able to best the challenges and trials of said quest." he said.

"That's amazing...to think there's a chance to actually get magic in this game. Do you think there's a way for someone else to get it?" she asked, a pleading look on her face. He frowned, shaking his head.

"Sorry, if I knew of a way to get it then I would gladly help you acquire it. But like I said, Unique skills only appear to certain people. Guess I just got lucky." he said, closing his menu.

"Yeah, lucky." she said, none to happy. He was about to say something, when he heard the sound of a twig snap. He glanced at the edge of the forest, his focus right on the brush.

"Hey, if you're gonna follow me why the hell don't you just come out?" he cried out. He heard a gasp before the person sprinted away. He shook his head, opening his message window.

"Man, I really wanna know who that is. But they keep running away from me." he said.

"Maybe it's because you shout at them every time." Yolko replied.

"Yeah, maybe." he said with a shrug. He typed out a message to Asuna, a smirk on his face.

" _Got rid of Sheeptar, got a bunch of sweet items, thanks for choosing me, here's your information."_ he typed out. He reread it before hitting the send button. With that said and done, he turned around, heading back toward Poni.

"Well Yolko, I'm gonna treat you to dinner for a job well done. I don't usually do this for those who I party with. Consider yourself lucky." he said.

"Um...okay...hey would you mind helping me with something?" she asked.

"Depends on what it is, I'm not going after legendary weapons no matter how much you pay me. Last guy who I tried doing that with ended up falling off of Aincrad." he said.

"No I...well...it's a bit complicated. You see...I used to be part of a guild, but our leader was killed. All of us ended up scattering to the wind after that. It was just me and my boyfriend for awhile, but he became a real jerk, so I broke up with him. He was my partner for awhile so...would you mind partying up with me?" she asked.

"Permanently?" he asked curiously.

"Just until I can get some decent experience so that I can be fine on my own. I'm scared, especially with Laughing Coffin being around. I have an inkling they were responsible for it." she said.

"Wait...this woman, was she going to get a ring appraised by any chance?" he asked curiously. Her eyes widened.

"How did you know that? Were you involved? Do you know who killed Griselda?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I was following this shady guy in Aquaria on Floor 31. I decided to sneak into the pub to see what he was going in there for. He said he was going to kill someone for it. After that he was going to take the ring to those Laughing Coffin guys for the money. I didn't know any names so I couldn't do anything about it. I told Agil if someone went to him to appraise a ring to warn them but...I guess she never made it there right?" he asked.

"No...she was killed by someone. It had to be one of our guild mates who did it, not everyone wanted to sell the ring. Two voted to keep it, but me and Caynz voted to sell it. It was a pretty split decision. So much so that it tore our guild apart. Griselda's death weighed heavy on everyone, especially her husband." she said.

"Husband?" Akira asked curiously.

"Yes, she was married to one of our friends. They were actually married IRL too, but he was a coward for battle. He's the one who made my estoc, and all of our weapons." she said.

"Really? Well, let me just say, I'm sorry for your loss. Anyone who kills for a stupid item doesn't deserve to live. If there's a way I can help you, please let me know. I'll be your partner for awhile if you want." he said.

"Thank you...actually, do you think you could help me find out who murdered her?" she asked curiously.

"I suppose so. It shouldn't be too hard, I just need a lead." he replied.

"Okay, I'll see if I can get you that. But I'm scared, the guy who killed Griselda might actually want to kill me and Caynz. We fear that he's onto us and that he'll get rid of us like he did with her." she said. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a firm squeeze.

"I promise I won't let anyone hurt you. Let's get back to town, we can discuss this further." he said. She nodded, quietly walking up the path. Akira glanced over his shoulder, the feeling that he was being watched never leaving his mind.

Xxx

"Oh, so it was her ass that attracted you to her." Rain said, placing a plate of hot food in front of Akira.

"What? That wasn't it at all. Me and Yolko sort of fell for each other during our hunt for Griselda's killer. But the thing was that she was hiding more information than what she was telling me. It was really easy for me to figure out that she was lying, but I decided not to say anything." he said.

"Why is that?" she asked curiously.

"I was really bored and needed something to do. A good old murder mystery mission was just what I needed, so I decided to go along with what she was doing. It was far more entertaining than anything else I was doing. Especially after fighting fucking Sheeptar." he said, shaking a bit. He glanced at the food on his plate, smiling a bit. Even though it was a simple dish, it looked amazing.

"Go ahead, you don't have to wait for me." Rain said, giving him a smile. He grabbed his fork, stabbing one of the meat cubes. He shoved it in his mouth, satisfaction written on his face.

"Aw man, this is amazing. Sweet, beautiful and an amazing cook, everything a man could ever want." he said, making Rain blush.

"It's nothing. I mean, the system does the work, I just gather the food up and make it." she said.

"Still, it's delicious. Do you cook in the real world too? Because I would love to taste that."

"No no no, my real world cooking is trash. I'm the type of person who burns water." she said.

"How the fuck do you do that? You know what, I don't wanna know." he said. Rain rolled her eyes, grabbing her own plate. She stabbed a piece of broccoli, shoving it in her mouth.

"So, when did you and Yolko get it on?" she asked. The boy almost choked, he hit his chest hard, grabbing his glass of water.

"Christ, what's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Nothing, it was a serious question!" she replied, shoving more food in her mouth. He shook his head, panting a bit.

"Not for awhile. Also, why we're you watching my fight with Sheeptar? Did you want to see my skills in action, or were you keeping tabs on me?" he asked curiously.

"A little of both. I hadn't seen your Unique Skill yet, and rumors were floating around thanks to Argo, so I wanted to see it for myself." she said.

"You could have come out you know...then again it wouldn't have made my time in Aincrad interesting. Just how long did you hide from me, and how long did you spend writing in your diary how much you wanted to talk to me?" he asked.

"First off, I don't have a diary, those are really dumb. Second, you know the answer to that question...you were an interesting person, so I wanted to see what kind of stuff you did. Besides, it's so much better hearing it from your point of view." she said.

"That's true, stories do sound better that way. Anyway, the next part of my story is Yolko's actual explanation. It's also when I start going Batman mode and searching up all of the leads I can to pin point the killer."

"Oh, this is going to be fun. I'm so glad I cooked us up a meal, stories are way better when your eating!" she said.

"That so? It's all the same too me, but thanks anyway sweetheart. I'm loving this so far." he said, giving her a smile.

"Sure, I don't mind cooking for you. Besides you'll be here for three days so you need more food."

"Honestly sweetie, I'm good with the food, my Cooking Skill is pretty high so I should be fine."

"Yes but what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't cook for my boyfriend?" she asked, giving him a wink.

"I suppose. I'm so glad we met, honestly speaking, you've made me happier in a few weeks than I have been in months."

Rain smiled brightly, her face flushed red. She set her plate down, walking back to the kitchen.

"I'll get started on some more stuff. Maybe some desert." she said.

" _You're all the desert I need."_ Akira thought, trying to hold back his laughter. He was sure she would faint if he had said that out loud. He continued eating his food, happy to have someone who cared so much about him in his life.


	21. Aincrad Arc: The Truth About Griselda

**A/N: Well since I am updating two other stories, I thought why not update this one, thus here we are.**

 **Welcome one and all to Hell on Earth...I'm just messing, Welcome to Chapter 21 of The Violet Assassin...**

 **So in the last chapter, Rain and Akira were playing house, with her being the doting wife making her husband dinner. He will continue sharing his war stories with her as he settles into his new dwelling...well actually...yeah pretty much.**

 **This chapter will explore a bit more of Akira's relationship with his second girlfriend in SAO, Yolko aka Yoga Pants. I haven't relly developed them much, but I will continue too in the later chapters. She is the girl that sticks by his side until Floor 75 when the shit hits the fan. After that he will mostly focus on clearing the game, encountering a mysterous glitch on Floor 85 that leads him to The Ruby Palace thus ending the game. So...hope ya'll like sex, because there will be some a little bit down the line.**

 **Uh...as for generally how the story will move about after reaching Arc Sophia on the 76th Floor, I haven't really decided. They only get to explore ten more floors before the game suddenly caves in on itself. So I will most likely be using the bosses from Hollow Fragment as place holders..joyous...that means I have to play forty hours of gameplay just to make it to the spot I need...at least I remember the Ghastly Gaze on Floor 76, the creepest boss ever...ugh...so many eyes...**

 **Hope you all like this chapter though...have a good day/night/evening whatever.**

 **PS, Baby's Day Out is on and I totally love the shit out of this movie, especially the zoo part.**

 **Someone please for the love of god, tell me they got the reference I put in this chapter...not the SAO abridged ones, the other one I snuck in there.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 21

The Truth about Griselda

Akira groaned as he was finally brought back to reality. It had been an interesting three days within ALO, especially since he was in good company, but on the fourth day, his sister had dived in, letting him know the surgery was a success. He blinked a few times, the light bothering his eyes. Once his vision cleared, he was able to see the bright smile the nurse was giving him. She looked him over, having unhooked most of the lines hooked to his body, including his feeding tubes and what not. He rubbed his eyes, yawning a bit.

"How are you feeling?" the woman asked.

"Tired, for some reason. But I'm also excited, my sister told me the surgery was a success?" he said.

"Indeed it was." Doctor Shimizu said, entering the room. He was holding a clipboard in his hands. One of the nurses gave him something which he ended up signing off.

"I don't feel any different." Akira said, glancing at his legs.

"That's because you've spent more than two years without using your legs. It'll be rough for the first few weeks, but you should be able to walk on your own soon enough. We've actually brought some people to help you get started." he said.

A few nurses walked into the room, along with a walker. The doctor helped him out, getting him ready to stand up. One of the other nurses also brought in his mother and sister, who were watching with rapt attention. He grabbed onto the walker tightly, the nurse helping him up. His legs wobbled wildly, as he tried to hold himself up.

"That's it Noah, you can do it!" his mother cried out.

"Come on little brother, you got this!" Alisha cried out. He let out a breath as he finally remained standing. It was a bit hard and his knees hurt, but he was standing.

"Excellent. The nanobots did their work splendidly, and you've actually remained standing for more than a few seconds! At this rate you'll make a full recovery in no time!" Doctor Shimizu said, jotting something down on his clipboard. Akira sat down, groaning a bit. His legs were tingling, pins and needles poking at his feet.

"I can't believe it...I stood up. This is so great!" he said.

"I'm so proud of you sweetie, after everything you've been through you can finally walk again." Alice said, hugging her son tightly. Alisha pat his head, a grin on her face.

"Yeah, you'll be free running in no time."

"Heh, I would really like that. It's been forever since I went to an actual run!" he said excitedly.

"Now now, you can't hit the ground running son. Let's start you off easy." the doctor said, making him laugh.

"Yes, I'll have to go through a lot of rehab, but it'll be worth it. Oh right, did Nijika tell you about the party?" he asked, looking at his mother.

"She mentioned it briefly, but said you would explain it. What's it all about?" she asked.

"Well, I haven't exactly been kind to all of my friends from SAO. So I wanted to rent out that cabin in Inokashira Park, and have a cook out. I want to make it so anyone from SAO can show up. After all we worked together to clear the game, so it should be fair that they get to show up." he said.

"I like that..but what if bad people show up, like those Laughing Coffin guys?" Alisha asked. Akira chuckled, shaking his head.

"Anyone who actively played a role in killing other members while in SAO got arrested. Every surviving member of Laughing Coffin was arrested, however they never found out who the leaders were. They're still out there, but I doubt they would show up." he said.

"I didn't know that, I'm glad they all got arrested then. I can sleep easy knowing their gone." Alice replied.

"Now I know you all want to stay with Noah, but we need to run some more tests. We'll move him upstairs while we run these exams. He should be discharged later in the day." Doctor Shimizu said.

"You're lucky little bro. Being one of the first patients to try out the new healing nanobots. You practically get to leave after the procedure, you don't even have to wait in the hospital under surveillance." Alisha said.

"I am lucky, hopefully others get the chance to experience this amazing technology." he replied.

"Well, we've got to go. We'll still be in the area waiting until you get moved up, have fun. And try not to mess with the doctors too much." Alice said, giving her son a hug and a kiss. He groaned in embarrassment.

The next few hours saw Akira being examined for literally everything possible. The doctors wanted to make sure everything was completely fine before discharging him. He was reassured that it wouldn't be long until the tests were done. He would just have to wait until the results came in. He had finally been moved upstairs to the patient rooms, and was left alone to rest before another battery of tests assaulted him. He sighed, glancing at the ceiling.

"Christ, this reminds me of when I woke up from SAO. They wouldn't even let me take a piss without help." he muttered dryly. At least they had let him shower by himself. He had been trying to stand up, but he almost fell, and one of the nurses rushed in to help him. That had been the end of that.

There was a sudden knock on the door, bringing his attention away from the ceiling. Glancing toward the entryway, he smiled when he saw a familiar face.

"Your sister called me and said you were cleared from surgery."

"Yup, now I'm going through a slew of tests. Don't just stand there, come in, keep me company." he said, gesturing to the chair next to the bed.

Nijika smiled, shyly entering the room. She was wearing a long sleeved pink shirt, with a bright red heart on it. She had rolled the sleeves up to the elbows, showing off some of the bracelets she was wearing. She wore a pair of white shorts, with black leggings underneath. She was wearing a pair of leather boots which reached up to her calves. Her hair was brushed neatly, and she was wearing a pink hair ribbon. She looked really cute. Akira grabbed one of his pillows, placing it on his laps with his hands over it, thankfully Nijika hadn't noticed.

"So, aside from all of the tests, how's your day going?" she asked.

"Fucking great! I stood up, aw man you should have been there. My legs were wobbling like crazy, but the rush of finally standing up, it was amazing." he said.

"I wanted to be here, but I was working the morning shift. That kid with the cat was there again, I told you about this right?" she asked. He looked at her, a curious look on his face.

"What kid and cat? This is the first I've heard of this." he said.

"Alright, so get this. I work at this maid cafe in Akihabara, nothing special. Since the SAO school has irregular schedules, sometimes we get days off and what not. So I decided to grab some extra hours. This guy who's pretty much a regular now, walks in with a bag. Inside said back is a cat. He orders the same thing every time, and he's always talking to it. But here's the kicker, the cat talks back to him!" she said.

"You had me and you lost me." he said.

"Noo, no one believes me! I swear this guy talks to his cat and he talks back to him. I don't know what he's saying, but they're always cracking jokes. I'm sure he's just there for Clara, but she doesn't want to say anything." she said firmly.

"Ahuh...have you talked to this boy? Maybe there's a reason why he's joking with his cat." he said.

"Nah, he'd probably think I'm weird for approaching him. He's always brooding too." she replied. Akira chuckled dryly, glancing out the window. It was a bright sunny day, white puffy clouds were floating through the sky. He glanced back at the girl, who had been reaching for his hand. She froze, giving him a look of surprise.

"Uh...I wasn't trying anything, honest." she said, pulling her hand back. He rolled his eyes.

"It's alright, if you want to hold my hand, you can just ask." he said.

"I know it's just...a little weird. I'm still getting used to all of this." she said.

"Am I your first boyfriend?" he asked curiously, earning a shy nod from her. Her face flushed a bit and she looked down, her hair covering her face.

"This is so embarrassing."

"It isn't. I think it's really sweet, you want to know another secret. I've never kissed a girl in real life." he said.

"Huh...but what about Jessica? Sasha and Yolko?" she asked.

"Sasha and Yolko are exceptions. We kissed inside a game, so it doesn't count as a real first kiss. As for Jessica, we never kissed. We went out for a year, but like I said she just liked my money not me. So no, I've never had a true first kiss IRL." he said.

"Oh...going by that logic then, I guess I haven't kissed anyone either." she said, poking her fingers together. Akira cleared his throat, a blush on his cheeks.

"Do you...wanna? I mean I don't want to impose or anything."

"No no, you aren't imposing. Not at all." she said.

"Good, good...um...do..wanna do that now or wait?" he asked.

"We can do it now I guess." she said.

She paused, opening her purse. She dug her hand into it, pulling out a tube of lipgloss from within. She applied some onto her lips, giving them a glossy shine.

"Sorry, my lipgloss had dried out."

"That's fine, you know I wouldn't care about something like that." he said.

"It's a girl thing." she said, taking a deep breath. She exhaled, closing her eyes.

"Okay, don't bite me."

"Why would I bite you?" he asked curiously.

"I'm just saying, I like my lips on my face." she said. He sighed, taking a hold of her arm. With a tug, she fell onto the bed and before she could say anything, he pressed his lips against hers. She let out a squeak as he captured her lips. Her eyes slowly closed as she started kissing him back.

"Ahem, am I interrupting something?"

The two pulled away from each other, with Nijika letting out a scream of shock. The two of them just stared in stunned silence, at the person who had unexpectedly showed up. Akira chuckled dryly, holding his hand up in greeting.

"Hey Asuna, g-good to see ya." he said.

The auburn haired girl looked between the two, shaking her head. Her serious look changed to a happy smile as she walked into the room, standing before her two friends. She was wearing a light colored dress, with a white jacket over it. She was wearing a matching skirt and a pair of expensive looking boots. She smiled brightly, sweeping some hair behind her ear.

"It's good to see you too Akira, it's been awhile since we actually spoke like this."

"What are you doing here, if you don't mind my asking?" the black haired teen said.

"I was just going in for some medical appointments. Just some final tests, since I did spent more time stuck in ALO than anyone else. The 299 others who were stuck in ALO with me were also getting some final tests done. I heard you were here for surgery, how did that go?"

"It was great, I did spend three days in the Medicuboid, but that was beside the point. I can finally stand again, and I'll be going to rehab for the next few weeks." he said.

"That's great, if anything I truly do want you to make a full recovery. I remember when we first met after everything, I was so sad to hear about your condition. But I'm so happy to see your recovering." she said.

"Thanks, I've been a pretty crummy friend though. All of you have tried reaching out to me, but I didn't want to speak to anyone. I guess after ALO shut down and I heard VRMMO's were taking, I disconnected. Everything just hit me at once you know, thankfully I met Nijika and she got me out of that funk. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me." he said.

"Aw, thank you for saying that. I'm glad I was able to help!" the girl said happily. She did look ready to cry though, but she toughed it out instead.

"Yes, but thanks to you funding Yvir, we can all enjoy ourselves again. Alfheim is our world, and so is New Aincrad. We spent too much time there for us to just let it disappear. We're all planning to go on an in game quest, maybe you should tag along." Asuna said, piquing the couple's interest.

"A quest you say, what's it about?" he asked.

"Nothing special, we were going to explore an undersea temple, but all of us are leveling up our swimming skills to unlock underwater breathing." she said. Akira smirked, glancing at Nijika who just looked at him oddly.

"See, no one ever says anything about Underwater Breathing, until they need it the most. Everyone always says its a stupid skill to have." he said.

"I don't understand." Asuna said.

"Oh, Sapphira told him that underwater breathing was a dumb skill that no one would ever use. Until they needed it to kill the Kraken on the 34th Floor." Nijika said, earning a nod from Asuna.

"Well, it'll take us awhile to unlock it. Silica actually doesn't know how to swim, we were all planning a day after the pool opens to teach her. Maybe you can join us Rain."

"Sure, I'd love that. Maybe the main man himself will be able to walk to the pool." the girl said, earning a laugh from Akira.

"Of course, and if I can't, I'll fucking crawl there. I promised myself that I would be able to walk on my own by June 20th. It's a promise I'm going to keep to myself!" he said.

"What's so special about that date?"

"It's my eighteenth birthday, I'll be an adult. In America of course." he added.

"Hey, we can make a little celebration before the quest, that will be perfect." Nijika said, jotting it down in a small pad.

"Speaking of that, would you mind telling our friends that we're going to be hosting a party in Inokashira Park? I haven't seen anyone since we all logged out of SAO, so I wanted to throw a bit of a clearing celebration." Akira said.

"Sure, we haven't had one yet, so that'll work just fine. I'll let Kirito and Agil know, they can gather everyone else up. I have to go, I was only supposed to stop in for a few minutes." Asuna said, grabbing her purse from the floor.

"Can we trade contact information? I want to have someone to talk to, aside from my mom, sister and Nijika here." he said.

"Hey, you love texting me." she huffed, puffing her cheeks.

"I do, but I don't understand emoji talk."

"Then we have to teach you. But at a later date, here's my number just text me later." the girl said, handing him a piece of paper.

"Okay, see you later Asuna, thanks for stopping by."

"Bye Asuna!" Nijika said, waving at the girl who happily waved back.

"Kirito is lucky to have a girl like that by his side. I owe them my life you know." he said, giving Nijika a smile.

"I know...now about that kiss."

"It was wonderful, but Asuna totally cock blocked us. Maybe we can try again later. How about I tell you more about Yolko? We didn't see each other much after that first day."

"Yeah, sorry about that. One of the girls at work got sick so I had to cover her shifts. But on the bright side, I got some free meal tickets. We can go there after you get discharged." she said.

"Sure, as long as there are no stairs. I don't think I can handle those yet." he said jokingly. Nijika sat down at the edge of the bed, taking a hold of his hand.

"If I remember correctly, you and Yolko were walking back to town, after defeating...Sheeptar the Sheep King." she said, breaking into laughter right after. He huffed, glaring at the girl.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. It was a stupid boss name...but yes, I'll pick up right there."

xxx

 _(March 1_ _st_ _2024: Location: Poni Floor 56.)_

It was raining when they arrived at the main settlement on the 56th Floor. Akira didn't really mind the rain, but he knew Yolko was rather annoyed. He had given her one of his extra cloaks so she wouldn't get wet, and she had seemed grateful, even if she had remained silent.

He had been lost in thought, mulling over the story she had told him. He was already forming his own theory on who Griselda's killer was. If he was correct in his assumption, then the person he saw in the pub down in Aquaria was the same man that killed her. Whether that was her husband or someone else, he didn't know. He just needed a bit more information to work with for him to come up with a solution.

Poni reminded him a bit of Algade. Most of the streets were paved in gray cobblestone, and the buildings were mostly in stone and wood. It was a rather large city, the biggest settlement on Floor 56. Some of the nearby villagers would often come to the city to strike it big, and it was a pretty big farming city. The mountains also had access to mineral mines, which made hunting ores much easier for the miners. Along with the Frontliners, Miners and Treasure Hunters were abundant, and even people from the lower floors had come for a visit. Due to that, most of the restaurants in the area were filled to the brim.

After a few minutes of searching, Akira found a good looking place and quickly hurried Yolko inside, as the rain had gotten stronger. He brushed some of the water off his body, lowering his hood as he looked around. Various players were sitting at the booths, but thankfully there were some empty tables near the windows. Akira picked one near the back of the restaurant and quietly sat down, with Yolko taking the seat across from him.

They remained silent for awhile, mostly because Akira spent some time looking at the menu. While everything was expensive, it was due to the fact that it was a good food. The quality would only get better the higher up in Aincrad they got. Finally after another minute of silence, Yolko spoke. She placed her hands on the table, fidgeting a bit as she did so.

"Um...Akira, I have a request for you." she said, catching his attention.

"Sure, depends on what it is." he said.

"I want you to find Griselda's killer and I want you to kill him." she said firmly.

"Yolko, I understand that you want to find who this bastard is...but you already know how I feel about killing. I'm not going to take away another life while I'm in Aincrad. I've already made a vow to myself. Every life is precious...no matter how sinister and twisted they are."

"But it isn't fair. Why does Griselda have to die and his killer be left alive? He should deserve the same fate as her!" she cried, slamming her fists against the table. He sighed, lowering his menu.

"Listen, I get it. It's a fucked up situation, but taking the life of a person won't bring her back. We need to find out who did it, how they did it and the motive behind it." he said, leaning against his seat.

"Do you...really think you can find him that way?" she asked.

"Of course...I can find him, I've dealt with other orange players before. However there is a way to clear yourself of the orange status. There's a Karma Quest available on the 1st Floor. If you complete it, then your cursor will be restored to green. People can constantly abuse it and remain green, it's actually something that's been happening a lot recently." he said firmly.

"I know, it's just so hard. Everywhere I go, I have to constantly look over my shoulder, I haven't slept well in weeks. It's one of the reasons why Caynz and I broke up, because I was too paranoid. He's working to find her too, but he doesn't want to kill the one who did it." she said.

"Yolko."

"Please, I'll do anything for you to kill him. I'll give you my items, my armor all of my money. I'll...give myself to you...just please, get this guy for me." she said, hugging her arms to herself.

"Okay that's enough!" he said, standing up from his seat. A few other players were watching them with rapt attention. He glared at them, and instantly they all turned around, shivering in their seats. He sighed, pinching his eyes.

"Yolko, you're a beautiful young woman, who I suspect has various hidden talents. But this...what you are doing isn't healthy. I get that you're scared, hell I would be too. But you can't focus on what can happen or what will happen, because you'll never relax. If your mental state doesn't improve, you could pass out and potentially even die." he said.

"I don't wanna die...not after making it this far." she whispered, her body shaking like a leaf.

"Then let me help you. Take a deep breath and relax, no one can die in a safe zone, so you'll be just fine. Now, let's talk information. This ring that Griselda had, what did it do exactly?"

"It was a ring similar to the one you got from that chicken. Except it raised a players Agility by +20. We found it while clearing a powerful dungeon. It was a pretty split decision, but eventually the ring was to be appraised and sold. However, Griselda never made it to the buyer's shop. It was then that we found out she was PK'd somewhere along the way. Our guild ended up dissolving due to disputes. Three of us decided to join the front lines. Schmitt joined the DDA and Caynz and I were a separate party." she said.

"But he broke up with you because of your paranoia. When did this all happen?" Akira asked curiously.

"Just last week. The only reason I was here on the 56th Floor was because I wanted a chance to talk to you. I was told that you arrested a number of orange players, including an entire guild. I just needed someone with experience to help me." she said.

"Like I said before, I will help you. But I am not killing whoever it is. Alright, let's go over the basics, do you suspect anyone of being the murderer? Don't hold anything back, because anyone can be the killer." he said.

"Um...okay. Well, we were an eight member guild, when we held the vote, four of us chose to sell it, two chose to keep it, and two were indifferent about it. As we had the majority, the ring was set to be sold." she said.

"Alright, what are the names of those four members?" he asked.

"Well, one of them is Schmitt, he's a lancer for the Divine Dragon Allience. The other is a woman named Sohara, the next person is a guy called Jonas, and the last guy was Grimlock. But we've already confirmed that Grimlock didn't do it." she said.

"How are you so sure? Usually the husband is the one that falls into the suspects list." Akira said.

"We know for a fact that it isn't him, because he was married to Griselda. He loved her, so he wouldn't so something like that. Besides he made my armor and our weapons. He wouldn't do such a horrible thing." Yolko said.

"Mhmm...alright then, I suppose we can rule him out then. That leaves those other three. While I haven't heard of Jonas nor Sohara, I do know who Schmitt is, and trust me I don't like the guy." Akira said.

"I never did like him myself. Perchance, what did he do to you?" she asked curiously.

"It has to do with my Unique Skill. He banded together with this other guy named Hayato and were planning to steal my items. I'm pretty sure he was okay with killing me too. Not just that, during the boss raids, he's always getting in people's way. He's a good lancer, I'll give him that but he's such a damn coward." he said, glancing out the window.

"Yes, he is a coward but don't you think it's odd that he would join up with the DDA right after his previous guild broke up?" she asked curiously.

"I don't follow."

"Didn't you just say the DDA tried getting your stuff during that quest? Wouldn't you say that Schmitt joining them would benefit the leader of that guild? I mean, a ring that gives you +20 agility is quite the boon. Especially when you're a tank." she said.

"That is true, going by that logic, Schmitt would be a prime suspect. But going by that alone won't be enough to close this case for good. We haven't established a motive. The person I listened in on was speaking with Laughing Coffin. Does Schmitt look like the guy who would do that?" Akira asked, glancing up at Yolko.

She was chewing on her bottom lip, glancing out the window. She had seemingly lost in thought. She brushed a strand of her hair over her shoulder, shifting her eyes back to Akira.

"I'm sure. If he's a coward, then he wouldn't want to do the work himself, he would hire someone to do it. He probably sold the ring to them for some money too." she said.

" _Hmm...that doesn't make sense. The guy who was talking to those Laughing Coffin guys was talking about murdering his wife. The only one who was married there was Grimlock. But then why would he kill his own wife? He did vote to keep the ring, so it would make sense. There's something here I'm missing...but what is it?"_ he thought to himself. He shook his head, glancing at the menu again.

"How about we order something? I'm starving!" he said. She smiled a bit, giving him a shy nod.

"Okay...I'll pay for my own meal, I insist."

"No no, we have to celebrate our union...I mean party...joining my party." he said, quickly correcting himself. Yolko blushed, giving him a nod.

The two mostly ate in silence, though it was because Yolko was too shy to say anything. Akira himself was still busy thinking everything over. He had analyzed the details, and compared them to the conversation in Aquaria. What Yolko had said about Schmitt being the killer didn't make sense. Especially since the man said specifically he was going to kill his wife. However, he wasn't sure if that conversation even pertained to the matter at hand. Sure, it could have been another group selling a ring, but it could have also been Yolko's friend. He set his silverware down, having finished his food.

"Yolko, I have a question. What was the name of your guild? And where was it located?" he asked.

"Hmm? I guess I never did tell you. The guild was called Golden Apple, we were the only player guild that operated out of Ralberg." she said.

The 19th Floor? Why would you want to live in that spooky place?" he asked curiously.

"Griselda thought it would be a good place to set up base. No one went down there, and even now the only people you see are low leveled players. However there are rumors saying that Laughing Coffin operates out of there too, and that many of its members hide in the woods around the abandoned settlement." she said.

"Right, Ralberg is a ghost town. So there are barely any NPCs, let alone guards, it's the perfect place for Orange Players to hang out." he muttered, stroking his chin in thought.

"One of the many reasons I packed up and left. I don't think I could live there another moment." she admitted, shivering a bit.

"Understandable. Listen Yolko, I'm going to meet up with someone for a bit. If you'd like you can stay in my apartment on the 53rd Floor. I most likely won't be heading home tonight." he said, handing her the keys. He opened his menu, sending her a friend request.

"Are you sure about this Akira? Players can't enter other players houses without permission." she said.

"But when they're friends and in a party, then it's totally okay. Just accept the request and you'll be fine." he said. She nodded, accepting his friend request. Afterwards, he payed for the tab, standing up from his seat.

"I'm gonna be heading out. Let's meet up tomorrow at 9:00, we can discuss this a little more. Since we defeated the mid level boss, we'll most likely be doing the boss raid tomorrow as well. We can meet up on the 57th Floor after that." he said.

"Okay, be careful out there Akira, I would hate for you to get hurt." she said.

"I'll be fine...trust me." he said. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug, surprising the teen quite a bit.

"Thank you for helping, it means a lot to me." she said.

"S-sure...n-no problem!" he said. She gave him a bright smile, before leaving the inn. Thankfully the rain had stopped for a bit. Once she was gone, Akira put on his hood, leaving the restaurant. He opened his menu, sending a quick message to his closest source of information.

" _Argo, I need to meet up right now. I require information, I'll pay you double your usual rate."_ he typed out, quickly sending the message. Almost immediately he got a reply back.

" _Well well, what could be so important that you would willingly pay me double? Would our usual meet up be alright?"_

" _No, let's meet up at the Skeleton Hotel, I wanna change the scenery up a bit."_ he replied.

" _The 39_ _th_ _Floor, if you say so."_

With that he closed the window. He walked down the main streets of Poni, watching some of the other player go about their business. He saw a few members of the KoB walking around, along with a few players from the DDA. He glared at some of the ones he passed, and they quickly clammed up, not really saying anything. Akira could only smile.

" _Maxed Intimidation is the best fucking thing in this game. It's so satisfying to see others cowering like little whiny bitches."_

He stepped up to the Teleporter, quickly activating it. He bid goodbye to the stone streets of Poni, and was instantly transported to the 39th Floor.

He looked around, straining his eyes. The 39th Floor was one of the ones people usually avoided with a passion. Mostly because it was covered in thick fog. It was so thick that people got lost as soon as they set foot into the fields. The clearing team actually had to raise their sightseeing skill just to get the map data for most of the floor. The main settlement was named Silent Hill. At first, Akira thought it was a joke, but then he saw that it was an homage to the horror series everyone hated playing.

To make it worse, the floor boss for the 39th Floor was Pyramid Head. If he wasn't such a dedicated gamer, he would have run for the hills as soon as he saw them. But the thought about finally reaching Floor 40 and getting out of there was a great motivation. Now, the town had been fully mapped, so getting lost barely happened.

Stepping off the teleporter, his feet made contact with the concrete streets. He quietly walked through the empty streets, passing by few NPCs and players who dared walk through the fogs at the wee hours of the night. Turning down the side street, he walked down a market area, with run down shops and stores. At the end of this street was the place he was looking for. The Skeleton Inn.

Being one of the only inns on the 39th Floor settlement, the Skeleton Inn was the pinnacle of creepy. It was inspired by a 1940's hotel/inn, with maroon walls and parlor windows. Thanks to the fog and the humidity however, the paint had started to peel, and the building itself looked dilapidated. The outdoor stairwell was busted in one spot, blocking access to the upper floors. He smiled inwardly and stepped into the building.

To his surprise, the building was filled with players. All of them seemed to be a bit under leveled for the area, so they must have been around for the horror factor the floor had. He didn't recognize anyone among them as he walked by, entering the pub area of the inn. He sat down in the very back, telling the bar tender his order. Only a few minutes passed before The Rat walked into the inn. She looked around for a few seconds, before heading to the back of the pub. She sat down, placing her hands on the table, a smirk on her face.

"So, what can I do for Mr. Akira today?" she asked. He opened his menu, already opening the payment window.

"I require information, two people of interest. A man named Grimlock and a man named Schmitt." he said, dropping the payment into the window. She licked her lips, looking at all of the zeroes in the window.

"Well, I'm rather surprised, especially at the names you've chosen. Well, Schmitt is rather easy. Previous member of the guild Golden Apple, joined the Divine Dragon Allience about six months ago and became their best lancer. Has been shown to be very strong on the battlefield and quite cowardly outside of it. Has no qualms killing players for high grade items, including a certain assassin's legendary armor and weapon." she said.

"Okay, anything on Grimlock?" he asked. She nodded, opening the window.

"This guy is a character. Extremely manipulative, likes keeping all good items to himself, has no prior battle experience, and is very dominant when it comes to others being in his party. He was married to a woman named Griselda before she mysteriously disappeared. It was later confirmed that she was killed while getting a ring appraised...wait a minute...this all sounds familiar. What do you need this information for?" she asked curiously.

"I'm working on something right now. Someone requested I find Griselda's killer. I think I closed down on who it is but I needed more information. Now, one last thing, if married players share inventory space and the spouse is killed, what happens to the items kept within?" he asked.

"Easy, they go to the remaining spouse. All equipped items will be transferred into storage, unless it was an active weapon. That will remain on the field. You should know this considering you still have Sasha's armor." she said.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure. Looks like I closed this case quicker than I wanted. How boring." he muttered, closing his menu.

"Speaking of which, rumor has it you've been taking down orange players left and right. You've become a target in the criminal underground." she said, earning a chuckle from the boy.

"Have I? That's great, people should fear me, I doubt anyone would be able to actually do anything against me though." he admitted.

"Yes, but you should still be careful. While you may not be brought down to the red by regular attacks, if you get paralyzed then it'd be easy for you to get killed in the field." she said.

"I know, don't worry, I won't let my level get to my head." he said.

"Good, so when did you get into murder mystery requests? It seems odd that you would take one now of all times." Argo said, earning a smirk from Akira.

"I got a little bored. I mean, I did just defeat Sheeptar the Sheep King, I needed something to do." he said, taking a sip of his mug. The auburn haired girl chuckled a bit at the name.

"Man, what a stupid boss. I hear the raid party is mobilizing for tomorrow. Asuna sounded really pissed when you killed that sheep on your own."

"Yeah well she can get over it. That's what happens when you decide to send me to scout the stupidest boss alive. Although I am sad that seven people died to it, they will definitely be honored after our defeat of the 56th Floor boss." he said firmly.

"Good, be that as it may, maybe you should stop taking bosses down on your own. That way people won't think of you as a douche bag."

"I've told you before, I don't care what people think of me. Besides, I know of four other people who are around my level and actively take on bosses on their own, why shouldn't I do the same?"

"That's not the point Akira, the point is you need to be careful. With so many orange players out there, one of them will eventually get the upper hand on you...I don't want to lose another friend." she admitted. He sighed, giving her a nod.

"Fine, I'll stop taking bosses on my own. And I'll also stop being an arrogant douche bag, although it's sort of fun sometimes. Anyway, thanks for the information Argo. All I need to do is can the bastard responsible and make him come out." he said.

"Let me know how it turns out. Also thanks for selling me that ring, I can't believe you didn't check the stats on it."

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I made a noob mistakes at this stage of the game, and now can't even abuse the damn glitch. One of these days Argo, one of these days." he said, exiting the bar.

Xxx

 _(March 4_ _th_ _2024 Location: Poni Teleport Plaza 56_ _th_ _Floor)_

While the clearers were busy hosting the Strategy meeting to clear the 56th Floor labyrinth, Akira and Yolko were busy handling other matters. Akira had surprisingly tapped out of the boss fight, being rather busy with other matters. While the big group of players had gathered at the teleport station, he and his blue haired companion were at an outdoor cafe, sitting with her ex-boyfriend. It was a rather awkward situation.

Caynz was a tall young man, being eighteen years old. He had short brown hair atop his head, and fair colored skin. He was wearing a full set of armor, helmet and all, though thankfully he had taken it off upon request. Akira glanced at the two closely for a few seconds, before nodding to himself.

"Alright, I've had a few days to hunt down some information, concerning the truth behind Griselda's death. I have already come up with the one who most likely did it." he said.

"Oh you have, please tell me. Although it's pretty obvious Schmitt did it." Caynz said.

"Caynz please listen to what Akira has to say before you make a comment." Yolko said firmly, glaring at the man.

"What, I'm just saying. The guys like an open book, besides I don't think I can trust this guy. Sure he's taken down many orange players but let's not forget his killed a person himself!" the armored man replied. Akira rose a brow, his face changing from one of boredom to an angry scowl. Yolko placed her hand on his, shaking her head.

"Caynz, we all know Ralph attacked him while he was forfeiting that mach. Stop beating the dead horse and let it go. Akira please share with us what you have found." She said, giving him a smile. He blushed a bit, but shook it off, becoming rather serious.

"Are you two aware about the shared storage feature? Married couples share a storage upon proposing to each other." he said.

"What the hell does that have to do with Griselda's death?" Caynz snapped angrily. Akira took a sip of his glass, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"Quite a lot really. Here's another question, when a person is killed, what happens to their items?" he asked.

"They disappear along with the avatar. Only those who have a high Pick Pocketing skill can salvage them before they get reclaimed by the system. Everyone knows that." Yolko said.

"Okay, now with that information you have just shared, do you truly think Schmitt could have killed Griselda for that ring? Do you? If so then you really suck at deduction skills." Akira said.

"Alright, I didn't skip out on the boss raid so I can sit here playing mind games. Tell me who the fuck did it so we can get our revenge!" Caynz shouted, slamming his armored fist against the table. Akira stared at his glass, as it had tipped over, spilling its contents on the table.

"Quite, well if you actually used your brain to think, you would realize that I gave you the answer to your question. But to appease you, I will answer it. Griselda was killed by Grimlock. Married players share inventories, so when she died the ring went back and he stole it for himself. This of course comes from the fact that he voted to keep the ring. Also it coincides with the information I gathered in Aquaria several weeks ago." he said, crossing his arms.

"What? It can't be Grimlock, that's impossible." Yolko said.

"Yeah, he's our friend. He would never kill his wife for something as petty as a ring. Besides he makes our armors and our weapons!" Caynz added.

"No, you're right. It must have been a hit from the Mermaid Mafia payed in Leprechaun gold. But who was the puppet master? The Leprecauns? No, they've been in a feud with the mermaids for decades." the purple haired boy said absentmindedly.

"Stop being a fucking asshole!" Caynz shouted, slamming his fist on the table. Akira sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"Dude, if you listen to me then you would have known it was Grimlock by now!" he cried back.

"But he wouldn't do that...he's done a lot of favors for us." Yolko added.

"That's just a way for him to remain as the good guy. In order for you to not suspect anything. He made himself the victim, his wife was killed in a tragic PK ambush for an expensive accessory. So when the guild disbanded, he instead decided to help his friends on the front lines by providing weapons. A cleaver cover up, but an easy one to figure out nonetheless." he said.

"I...well I refuse to believe it. Grimlock would never hurt his wife, what reason would he have?"

"Well that ring was enough of a reason. He could have easily gotten a million col for it, maybe even more depending on its actual value. If he gave it to one of the guys from Laughing Coffin, then he might've gotten a bit more than what it was worth. He essentially helped Player Killers become better at what they do. Now that you have this information its up to you to do what you want with it." he said, standing up from his seat. Everyone else had left for the boss raid, so the plaza had been pretty much cleared out.

"Akira wait...are you certain he's the killer?" Yolko asked, causing him to turn around. He gave her a nod.

"I'm certain...you told me these last few days that Griselda had changed from her IRL self and that Grimlock was getting annoyed because of it. I think that ring was enough reason for him to do it. The bastard, killing the woman he vowed to protect for the rest of his life. I can only imagine the shock and horror on her face when he stabbed her in the back. It's taking everything for me not to hunt him down and kill him right now. I'll leave it to you to handle the out come." he said, walking off.

"He's full of shit, it's not Grimlock at all...you'll see it's definitely Schmitt." Caynz said.

"Oh shut up. What Akira said is true, why don't you start making plans to see how we can draw him out. We'll need to make him confess somehow."

"Sure, whatever. I'll play along with this for now, I'll message you later." he said, leaving the diner. Yolko nodded and turned around, running after Akira.

Akira sighed contently as he leaned against the teleport plaza's crystal. He was looking at his menu, searching the map of the 56th Floor for a good place. His teammates were all handling the boss, so he would take that time to level himself up and search for new gear.

"Akira!"

The boy looked up, glancing at Yolko, who was slowly approaching him. He pushed himself off the crystal and closed the distance between them. He closed his menu, shoving his hands in his pockets as he did so.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I just wanted to thank you. I didn't think you would solve this matter so easily. We've been talking for months and didn't get a single lead, and yet you solved it in a matter of days." she said.

"Well, it was all common sense. Honestly if I hadn't gotten married myself, I wouldn't have found out about the shared storage thing. It would have been much harder without that piece of information. Having been in Aquaria when all of this was happening was also a nice touch. Although I am sad, I knew about this but due to my lack of information, I wasn't able to save Griselda. I had a friend tell Agil in case she made it, but she must have gotten killed before." he said.

"It's a horrible thought but, we did dedicate a grave to her in the Hill of the Cross. If you'd like you can pay your respects to her." she said.

"Sure, I think that would actually make me feel better. I was planning on exploring a dungeon on this floor. Would you like to tag along?" he asked.

"As long as we don't fight anymore acid spitting sheep." she said, earning a laugh from him.

"No promises." he replied.

Xxx

"That's essentially how we met. We did a lot of solo leveling and did join in the party to take down the 57th and 58th Floor bosses, along with the rest of my friends. It wasn't long before she and Caynz came up with that crazy scenario and arrested Grimlock. She and I didn't meet up for awhile after that, since she was taking care of him and letting the others who belonged to her guild know the truth. But we did meet up again when Selmberg was unlocked."

"Floor 61, one of the prettiest places in Aincrad. And the place where the Lightning Flash made her home. So we're almost over the hump, only a few more months to go before SAO would be cleared." Nijika said. He nodded, lightly squeezing her hand. She leaned forward, about to kiss him when they heard a knock on the door.

"Hey Noah, oh I didn't know you had company." the woman, one of his nurses, said. Akira blushed brightly, glancing away from the woman.

"Oh uh...yes, this is my girlfriend, Nijika. Nijika, sweetie, this is my nurse Natsuki Aki. She's going to be helping me with my rehab." he said.

"Yes indeed, compared to one of my other patients, Noah here is more cooperative." the woman said, standing next to the boy's bedside. She wasn't much older than them, being around twenty years or so. She had light auburn hair, tied into a thick brad that she kept behind her head. She was wearing a light colored Nurse outfit, and held a clipboard in her hands. She was also wearing a thin pair of glasses on her face.

"It's nice too meet you Miss Natsuki." Nijika said, giving her a polite bow.

"It's great to meet you too Nijika-chan, I didn't think Noah-kun had such a pretty girlfriend." she said, giving her a wink. Nijika blushed brightly, once again letting her hair cover her face.

"Hmm, it says here we only have one more test before you can be discharged. The results for the others came in, and you're all green across the board. After this all you have to do is come back for your rehabilitation." the woman said.

"Finally, I was getting tired of being in this hellhole. I really hate hospitals you know." he said.

"Yes I know...much like another certain someone I know. Alright tiger, I need your arm. It's just a simple blood test, don't worry I only need one tube of it." she said.

"The vampires require sustenance. Worry not, I shall feed them tonight." he said, exposing his arm to the nurse. She tried not to laugh as she quickly cleaned the area.

"I'm gonna look away, I'm a bit squeamish." Nijika said.

"Aw, it's just a needle. I actually like the little pinch." Akira said.

"Ew god no. I hate needles, I remember when I was little my shots would always go on my thigh. That sucked so bad." the girl replied.

"We all went through that. I however got my shots right on the butt. I was convinced my mom hated me." he said.

By the time he had finished talking, Aki had already drawn out the blood. She shook the tube a bit, smiling to herself.

"Okay, so we're all done. The doctor will be in shortly so you can sign your discharge papers. I'll let your family know so they can come up."

"Thanks Aki, take care of yourself!" he said. The woman gave him a wave before she left the room.

"Isn't this great? You're finally getting to walk again. I want to help you as much as I can, so tell me what I can do." she said firmly. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to him.

"Stay with me, that's all I can ever want." he said. She smiled, sitting next to him. She kissed his cheek, hugging his arm.

"So, what happened after you and Yolko met up again?" she asked.

"Eh, we just leveled up and stuff. I wouldn't say she replaced Sasha in our squad, but she became an integral character. Actually, I'll just skip to when we took on the 62nd Floor boss. One of the most fun ones in the game. It was called, Ramtar the Ram Queen." he said.

"Seriously?" she asked, eyes widened in shock. He chuckled, kissing her nose.

"You are so gullible. No, the bosses real name was Ulrich, the two headed Giant." he said.


	22. Aincrad Arc: Making it Count

**A/N: Hello guys and welcome to chapter 22 of The Violet Assassin...**

 **So, I only have two or so chapters to post after this one...since I took a break I decided to end it at chapter 24 leaving it on a cliff hanger. For now this chapter will delve a bit more into Yolko and Akira's relationship as they get to know each other. They also get to take on the 62nd Floor Boss. I hope you like this chapter.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 22

Making it Count

 _(June 15_ _th_ _2024 Location: Floor 62 Labyrinth)_

Akira and his party were on the way to the bosses room. It hadn't been long since the 62nd Floor had been reached and sub-sequentially, cleared. Now that the boss quests had been taken care of, the only thing that was left to do was defeat the boss. Ironically enough, the name of the 62nd Floor was known as Modor. As soon as people got to the main settlement, everyone started cracking jokes. Akira however remembered what happened on launch day when he tried calling himself Boromir and failed because someone else had taken it. It wasn't a fun time for him.

He had been hanging out with Yolko quite a bit. After Grimlock had been taken care of, she had decided to actively join the frontlines with him and his team. Caynz however remained on the 19th Floor, choosing to help others level up on the monsters that prowled the area. Akira found it quite noble and even gave him some of his old gear to help those who needed it. Sapphira hadn't been happy that he had invited the girl into the party, but the others agreed that they needed a seventh person, even if it meant filling Sasha's empty spot. Akira had also given Yolko a welcoming gift, an upgraded shield made from the metal ores of Sasha's old armor. She had been ecstatic upon receiving it.

"Hey Akira, before we make it to the boss room, would you mind letting us all know what our tasks will be beforehand?" Sapphira asked.

"Oh right, this boss is rather simple minded. According to the information, it's a two headed giant that attacks with a stone club. It sacrifices defense for offense. So I want three of you to focus on aggro while the rest of us attack it head on. When your HP is down, switch out and let offense go in for aggro." he said.

"Okay then, that means Aries, Morrison and I will draw aggro first, and then you, Yolko and Nick will switch with us, right?" Sapphira asked.

"Yeah, that's right. Remember if you feel in danger don't hesitate to teleport out or run out of the boss room." Akira said firmly.

"Understood, I only hope to get the Last Attack Bonus this time, all of you have gotten one except for me." Morrison said. Nick chuckled, wrapping his arm around his friend.

"Don't worry man, you'll get it one day. Besides, new girl hasn't gotten one either."

"I haven't been on the front lines long. I don't really care much for some lousy item." Yolko replied.

"Yeah, and I assure you, you won't be saying that once you actually land the last hit. Just step aside and let me take it." Sapphira said firmly, hand on her sword.

Akira sighed, not really wanting to say anything. After a few minutes, they all arrived at the boss room door. The Knights of the Blood Oath stood in front of them all, with Asuna leading the charge. Akira narrowed his eyes a bit when he didn't see Heathcliff among them. He grew a bit tense, and bit his lip.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yolko asked softly. Asuna was in the middle of her speech, which they had heard many times before. Akira looked at his partner, a frown on his face.

"Heathcliff is absent from this fight, he wasn't there for the last two either." he said.

"Now that you mention it, this is the fifth one in a row that he's skipped out of. How do you think he levels up?" Nick asked curiously.

"Probably soloing dungeons. With his Divine Blade skill, he barely takes any damage. I've never seen his HP fall below the green." Aries added.

"Seriously? His defense must be through the roof if that's true." Morrison added.

" _I doubt it, I've never seen this guy training anywhere. He's always up in his guild house in Grandzam. He issues orders but never actually does anything himself. He's only been to a handful of boss fights. Who are you Heathcliff, and what are you hiding?"_

"Is everyone ready? If so then let's win this battle!" Asuna cried, pulling him out of his thoughts.

The doors slowly opened, and all of the players rushed inside. The layout of it was almost like the last few he had seen. It was a round battlefield, with grass and dirt all over the place. There was a large stairwell leading to the next floor, the doors being firmly shut. Standing before it was a giant looming creature, standing sixteen feet in height. It had dark blue skin, and hairy arms bulging with muscles.

It was wearing a leather chest plate, along with what looked like a pair of leather shorts. The creature was standing barefoot, its massive legs pulsing a bit. The creature had two large heads, ugly expressions on each face. It was holding a large stone club in its hand, which was resting against its shoulder. The heads let out a simultaneous roar before it ran forward, raising the club above its head.

"Everyone, attack!" Asuna cried, holding her rapier above her head. That was all it took for everyone to spring into action.

Akira dashed past a few other players, while his friends were drawing aggro he was going to be on the attack. He pulled his sword back, slashing the Giant's legs.

"Switch!" he called out, dodging the giant fist aimed at him. Yolko raced forward, jumping into the air.

"Flashing Penetrator!" she cried, rapidly jabbing her estoc into the Giant's arm. She landed on the ground, rolling out of the way just before freezing up.

"Switch!" she cried out.

"Alright, here comes the Nick!" the armored teen cried out, holding his great sword above his head. It glowed a brilliant green as he slashed it across the creatures back. Spinning it around his hand, he delivered three more slashes before sweeping it across the giant's pulsing legs. It roared in pain, dropping to its knees.

"A team, switch. I want Aries and Sapphira attacking its faces!" Akira called out. The two young women nodded, switching from aggro to attack. The sounds of their skills activating filled the area as they each struck Ulrich as hard as they could.

The Giant slammed its fists into the ground, knocking everyone to the floor. It suddenly stood up, grabbing its club, holding it above its head. It glowed a brilliant gold and quickly brought it down.

"Move!" Asuna cried out.

Kirito and Klein raced forward, both activating their skills in time to catch the club before it made contact with the ground, giving everyone under it enough time to leave. Akira took his chance and shot forward, aiming a Piercing Stab to the giant's arm. That was enough to bring down its first HP bar.

"Nice one Akira!" Klein called out.

"Thanks bro, but you and Kirito saved us all. Let's switch out!" he said, dashing back as fast as he could.

For the next half hour or so, everyone continued rotating and slowly chipping away at the boss's HP. Several people got some nice hits in, while others focused mostly on healing those that needed it. However the ones who were doing the most damage were Kirito, Klein, Asuna and Akira himself. Whenever one would be dealing with their cool down, the next one would go in to deliver some stronger hits. The second to last bar was finally dealt with, and the Giant roared loudly, throwing its club to the other side of the room. Asuna suddenly backed away, holding her rapier to the side.

"Watch out guys, it's changing tactics!" she cried.

The Giant's eyes suddenly started glowing red, as it looked around the room. Finally picking a target, it raced forward, pulling its fist back. It glowed a bright orange as it activated a martial art skill. Akira dashed forward, pulling the frozen player out of the way, just as the fist slammed into the ground.

"Shit, are you alright?" he asked, glancing at the girl who had remained frozen. She nodded, shaking a bit in fear. He turned around, glaring at the monster.

"It's using its strength against us now. We need tanks in the front to take the hits, everyone with speed crystals use them now!" he cried out, pulling one from his own pocket. Several tanks came in from the back, placing their full body shields at the front, forming a U around the giant.

"Alright Furinkazan, time to attack!" Klein cried out, running as fast as he could. His Katana glowed a brilliant orange. He brought down hard, sweeping it to the side, before drawing it across. He jumped out of the way as his friends unleashed their skills. The Giant quickly turned around, pulling its fist back.

"Have some Poison gas you fuck!" Akira shouted, throwing a poison smoke bomb at the giant's face. It burst on contact, surrounding its heads with the poison gas. He threw several more, hoping the status stuck, but sadly it didn't. He grit his teeth reaching into his now empty pocket.

"Akira watch out!" Yolko shouted.

Akira looked up in time to evade the punch heading right for him. He landed in a low crouch as the giant ran at him, aiming a kick at him. Akira smirked as he dashed forward, pulling his sword back.

"Have a taste of this! Horizontal!" he cried. His sword exploded with a green light, as he dashed past the giant, slicing it's leg clean off its body. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, coming to a complete stop as the creature fell to the ground.

"Now, attack it with everything you've got!" Asuna cried out.

Akira smiled, quickly joining his friends who were all activating their sword skills. Aries jumped in to the air, slamming her mace right into the Giant's back, the sound of bones snapping filling their ears. Morrison and Yolko ran forward as fast as they could, unleashing various flashing skills that slowly chipped away at the Giant's health. Even Sapphira was joining in, using a Phantom Rave directly at the creature's head.

Kirito quickly dashed in, his Elucidator glowing a bright blue in color as he ran forward, giving a battle cry that drowned out the others. Akira was close behind, his sword behind his back. The two of them slashed the giant with great speed, leaving two large gashes on its side. Akira froze in place while Kirito continued his own skill, slamming the tip of his blade straight through the Giant's right head. It glowed a bright white before bursting into polygons, each of them disappearing from sight. The usual Congratulations banner appeared, naming him the winner of the Last Attack Bonus. Akira groaned, falling to his feet.

"I was so damn close." he said.

"But not close enough I'm afraid. Good job though." Kirito said, sheathing his sword. Akira rolled his eyes.

"So, what did you get?" he asked.

"Nothing special, I think it's a ring."

"Nice work everyone...together we were able to defeat this boss. Better yet, we don't have any casualties! Our record is at an all time high, let's work together to keep it that way!" Asuna said cheerfully.

"Hey, don't give us all the credit, it was thanks to your tactics we won't this...you noticed its parameters changing before any of us did...so this victory belongs to you too!" Akira cried out.

"Yeah, three cheers for the Lightning Flash!"

"Hip hip, hooray!"

Akira tuned everyone out after that, content with resting on the cool dirt floor. The doors to the next floor slowly opened, letting some bright sunlight through into the darkened room. He stretched his arms, letting out a yawn.

"Tired much?" Kirito asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to get that damn chicken to appear. Every time I tell myself to give up, I go back like a damn dog." he said.

"I thought that got patched?"

"Found another tree on Floor 57 that was acting the same. So far I got nothing...I wonder if this is a multi-floor glitch or if Kayaba is doing it deliberately. I'm trying to remember any games with that type of Easter Egg." he said.

"I don't recall any myself. You'll figure it out, I'm sure...wanna come with me to the 63rd Floor and activate the gate?" he asked.

"Sure why not? Hey, Sapph, me and Kirito are heading up. You in or out?" he called out.

"We'll stay here and help the others heal, don't steal any quests from us or I swear I'll kill you!" she said. He waved her off and followed the Black Swordsman toward the stairs. He brushed off some dirt from his Icy Assassin Garb, deciding to leave his hood down.

"Akira, do you mind if I tag along?" Yolko called out. Akira smiled.

"Sure, knock yourself out!" he said. She ran up the stairs, catching up with the two players.

"It's nice to see you again Yolko, I didn't think you would join the Front Lines with us." Kirito said.

"Yes, I felt the need to repay you and Asuna for what you did. After dealing with Grimlock, me and Caynz decided it would be best to go our separate ways. Akira invited me into his team and I accepted." she said.

"You know, you two still threw me for a loop when you faked your deaths. I had to admit, using a teleport crystal and relying on armor durability, I wouldn't have thought of that myself. You are a real genius." he said, making the girl blush.

"It was nothing, I just started thinking more like you. What would you do to trick someone. After all you are rather sneaky." she said.

"I am aren't I?" he said, a grin on his face.

"Don't speak so highly of yourself, you're still not as good a hider as I am." Kirito said, earning a chuckle from Akira.

"Yeah, that's true. You were the one who leveled all of those skills up before any of us. I only wish I could find that person that's been following me around recently. Ever since the 34th Floor someone has been following me everywhere." he said.

"Do you think it's someone from a dark guild?" Yolko asked.

"No not at all, if they were then there would be information out there about my unique skill. Only you, Kirito, my friends and Lisbeth know about it." he said.

"That's true, and since you don't have a name you can't ask Argo for a quick search. Well as long as they don't pose a threat it shouldn't be an issue." Kirito added.

"Mhmm, I'll let them do whatever they want. It's just hard to fight giant anthropomorphic sheep when someone is watching you from the bushes." he joked, earning a punch to the arm from the black haired teen.

After a short walk, the three finally made it out of the 62nd Floor labyrinth. They all let out a gasp as they appeared on the 63rd Floor for the first time.

A muddy path extended out from the labyrinth, surrounded by lush green Evergreen trees. Long blades of grass extended from the sides of the path, extending high above them. The clouds above them were swirling, dumping hundreds of gallons of rain upon the fields down below. The sound of a river could be heard not far from where they were. The wind was blowing hard, the fat water droplets falling at an angle, slamming into the ground with great intensity.

"Aw fuck, another rain floor." Akira said.

"Hey look at the bright side, we might find a Tropius hiding around these grassy fields." Kirito said cheerfully, making the boy laugh.

"Hehe yeah, I could use some Neck Fruit right about now." he said, he put his hood over his head as he started walking up the path. Yolko materialized her cloak, hugging it closely to herself.

"Um, what's a Tropius?" Yolko suddenly asked, causing the two boys to stop mid stride. They looked at her, shocked looks on their faces.

"You...don't know what a Tropius is?" Akira asked.

"No, should I?"

"Maybe, quick do you know what an Absol is?" Kirito asked.

"A famous rapper from America." the girl replied.

"No, oh my god...do you know who Pikachu is?" Akira asked.

"Yes, it's that yellow rat thing from that show I used to watch when I was a little girl." she said happily.

"Pokemon, it's called Pokemon. When we get out of here, she's playing those." Akira said matter of factly.

"I'll start her out with the originals, or should we give her Fire Red and Leaf Green to start with?"

"No, give her Red and Blue, I had to suffer with those growing up thanks to my mom. So she'll suffer with them as well."

"Suddenly I'm really scared for my life." Yolko said, earning grins from the two boys.

After defeating some of the local mob, which consisted of giant mosquitoes, slithering leeches and praying mantis that could launch silk from their mouths, Akira, Yolko and Kirito made it to the capital of the 63rd Floor, Haiku. It was a village, which was located entirely above them in large trees. Much like the settlements on the 40th Floor, each building was connected via wooden bridges.

There were some buildings on the ground, consisting mostly of stores and inns. A few NPCs were walking around with axes and bundles of wood, which were being neatly stacked next to one of the tall trees. At the center of the town stood the Teleport Station, the only odd thing. It was surrounded by Cherry trees, which were currently in bloom.

"It's so pretty...and look at all the trees." Yolko said, looking around with a look of wonder on her face.

"Yeah, and it would be better if it wasn't raining. Then again the trees up here block most of the water." Akira said, brushing some water away from his face. The sound of the teleporter being activated caught his ear as he saw Kirito standing by it. A menu flashed in front of them, saying they could now access Haiku from any teleporter in Aincrad.

"Well, I call this Boss Raid a success. What do you think of Luana so far?" Kirito asked curiously.

"It's beautiful...I love the old timey feel it has, and I have to admit, tree houses are really cool. I might move here if I find a house for a cheap price." Akira admitted.

"I might do that too...I've been saving for a house on the upper floors. I'm tired of going back to Ralberg every time I want to sleep. It's also a waste of money to stay at an inn all the time." Yolko admitted.

"How about we talk to Sapphira and the others, we can pool our money together and buy a house here. If not she can always use her negotiation skills to lower the price for us." she said.

"That would be wonderful, thank you. What about you Kirito, what will you do?"

"I'm about to explore for a bit. I wanna get a move on mapping this area." he said.

"Have fun then, I might join you later." Akira said, watching the black haired teen walk toward the other end of town. He shook his head, glancing at the sky.

"He never sits still. Every floor is the same for him."

"Aw, he just likes to have a sense of adventure. I find that really cool." Yolko admitted.

"I suppose so. Let's see what this town has to offer." he said, leading her deeper into the new settlement.

Walking around the town, Akira discovered a lot of interesting items on sale. Due to the strength of his armor, he didn't really have a need to buy anything. Player made weapons were way better by his standards, but he had to admit the ones on sale were very good quality. Yolko paused at a weapon shop, glancing through the window at the swords on display. She drew her estoc from its scabbard, glancing at the blade closely.

"Something wrong Yolko?" he asked.

"I don't want this. It was made by Grimlock, and I honestly don't want anything to do with him." she replied.

"But that's your strongest sword, you know player made weapons are better." he said.

"I know, but I don't have nearly enough ores to actually get something made. Do you think one of these swords would do?" she asked, pointing to the one currently on display. He glanced at hit, blowing a raspberry at the glass.

"Absolutely not. That thing looks like it'll break as soon as it makes contact with a Slimes flesh. No, we're going to see one of my friends." he said. He turned around, walking toward the Teleport Plaza. Without much of a choice, Yolko followed along, sheathing her sword as she went.

"So, where is this place again?" She asked curiously. He kept quiet, a smile on his face.

"You'll find out soon enough. Teleport Lindas!" he called out.

A second later, they were brought down to the capital of the 48th Floor. Lindas was a very beautiful town, modeled after an English farming village. All of the houses were small and had hay thatched roofs. There were a few windmills on some of the tall hills, used mostly to grind rice and wheat into flour. The 48th Floor was one of the ones that provided the best bread in all of Aincrad.

Akira silently stepped off the teleporter and walked down the main street with Yolko at his heels. She was looking around, content with the scent of fresh baked bread. She frowned a bit, placing her hands at her stomach. Akira stopped at one of the stands, and quickly purchased some bread, along with some other things. He handed one of the small loaves to Yolko, who eyed it hungrily.

"You're welcome, trust me the first time I came here I spent at least 30,000 on bread alone." he said. She took a bite out of it, chewing it slowly.

"It's so tasty, oh Griselda would have loved this." she said.

"I bet she would have, I wish I could have met her. But she's in a better place right now, so let's keep fighting for her. The place we're going too is nearby." he said.

They followed the path out of the city, heading toward the outskirts of the city. There was a beautiful bridge made entirely out of stone, which went over a large river. On the other side was a modest looking building, with a large water wheel on it. It was a tan colored building, with a wide angled roof, covered in hay. There was a stone chimney on the roof, with smoke billowing out of it.

"Aw, what a cute little house." Yolko said.

"Yes, it's one of the nicer ones on Floor 48. But this is also a Smithy, belonging to a friend of mine." he said. He opened the door, stepping into the building.

All around him were some of the best weapons he had seen. There were lances and shields on the walls, while some of the finer daggers were under glass. The middle showcase had one handed swords and rapiers on display. Behind the counter were several more one handed swords and even a large full body shield. Sitting behind the counter with a bored expression was a familiar looking pinkette. Her eyes lit up when she recognized her friend.

"Akira, it's so good of you to come. This is the first time in my new shop right?" she asked.

"Sure is Lis, I brought my friend Yolko along. She's in the market for a weapon, I also brought food." he said, placing the basket on the counter.

"Thanks, I was getting a bit hungry. Me and Asuna are hanging out later this afternoon, so its been a bit slow. My name is Lisbeth, all of these weapons are ones that I have forged myself." she said, a proud smile on her face.

"It's nice to meet you Lisbeth, my name is Yolko. I recently joined Akira and his friends." she said.

"Interesting, I thought you didn't want to bring your guild back?" the pink haired girl asked.

"We're not a guild anymore, but we're still partying for the boss raids. We all do our own thing now, except for Sapphira, she's still riding my ass about the last quest I took." he said, shaking his head.

"Well then, do you see anything you'd like? Every sword was carefully made from the finest ores. They all come with a Lisbeth Quality Guarantee. So if it breaks I'll replace it free of charge." she said.

"Oh um...that sounds nice but...I don't see anything." Yolko said. Akira reached for her sword, drawing it from its sheathe at her waist.

"She needs an Estoc, with these dimensions and if you can make it as strong or stronger than this, I'll buy it." he said.

"What? No Akira don't waste your money on my stuff. I can pay for it myself."

"No no, you're my partner so I'll buy your stuff. Besides, I only want the highest quality equipment for my friends." he said. Lisbeth took the sword from him, looking at its stats.

"Twilight Dusk, this is player made." she said, glancing at the two.

"Yes, the man who made it used to be a friend, but I've severed all times with him. That's why I need a new sword." Yolko said. Lisbeth nodded, turning around. She hummed to herself, grabbing one of the ones on display.

It was a beautiful sword, with a light green blade. It was wide near the hilt, and thinned out to a sharp point. It had a black cross-guard, with a red rose etched onto it. The hilt was black in color, and had blue leather wrapped around it. The pommel was rounded out, with a cross etched on it. She placed it on the table, a smile on her face.

"This estoc is the first one I ever made. It's called Rosa Linda, which translates to Beautiful Rose. It boosts agility and reduces sword skill cool downs. It will also increase dexterity and vitality while adding a bit of strength to it. Since you use a shield, you're defense should be good."

"Oh, it's so pretty. I like the name of it too." Yolko said, grabbing the sword from the counter. She held it outward, jabbing the air in front of her, activating one of her skills.

"It's pretty fast, but do you mind if I test the durability on it?" Akira asked.

"Huh? Why would you do that?" Lisbeth asked curiously.

"Just to make sure, you know I always do this when I come here. After what happened on Floor 50, I don't take chances." he said, taking the sword from Yolko.

"I suppose, but if you break your sword I'm not replacing it." she said. Akira drew his Claymore from his back, holding it in front of himself.

"Wait, do you even have Rapier skills?" Yolko asked.

"Of course, some of the skills I have now required me to level them up. Don't worry, this will be quick." he said, holding the estoc above his head. It glowed a brilliant gold as he used a level one Streak. He brought the sword down against his blade, a loud clang filling the room.

He looked closely at the estoc, seeing the blade had cracked a bit. He was surprised it even survived that hit, even with low durability. He handed Lisbeth the sword, giving her a nod.

"It survived, but it could use some more iron ore to strengthen the blade." he said.

"Yes, except I don't have any left. I've been busy with custom orders so I haven't been able to go hunt some down." she said.

"I can do that for you. It isn't much of a hassle." Akira said.

"Seriously, you would do that for me?" Lisbeth asked, a wide eyed look on her face.

"Sure, you've been making weapons for me all this time. Thanks to you I can help the intermediate players level up. Not to mention make sure Silica is doing fine. I can't always keep an eye on her, but making sure she has good gear is enough. So if I can help you then I will. What exactly do you need?" he asked.

"Hmm...well I would need some wrought iron ore, there's a dungeon on Floor 54 that's abundant with it. If you could get some copper ores and some emerald ores that would be great too." she said.

"If I bring you diamonds, will you make me a diamond sword? That would be nice for me to have." he added.

"Sure but...why do you need that? Don't you have a Legendary weapon?" she asked curiously.

"I do, but I don't like using it in battle. It isn't fun when you have a powerful sword that can practically cut through anything. Even if we're trying to survive, I want to have some sort of a challenge." he said.

"Is that why you've been using that weaker sword in battle?" Yolko asked.

"No, one of the reasons I don't use Shiva's Heart in battle is due to my Unique Skill. Remember, when I use it along with my sword it will make all of my Sword Skills be laced with ice magic. That would be bad, especially if I used it in public, so I refrain from using it unless it's a dire circumstance." he said.

"Makes sense, I suppose we can head out now. What dungeon is this again?" Yolko asked. Lisbeth opened her map, humming to herself.

"It's located past the Diamond Mountains on the Northern end of Dimantia. It's a mountain dungeon filled with lots of metal monsters." Lisbeth said, flicking the map to them.

"Hmm...that means slashing skills will be useless to us. We'll have to rely mostly on piercing and blunt attacks. We should be fine." Akira said, making his own map.

"Well, I'll be waiting for you guys. In the mean time I'll get the fire started so I can begin as soon as you return." Lisbeth said. Yolko grabbed her sword, sheathing it at her waist.

"Thanks for your hospitality Lisbeth. We won't be long." she said, giving her a bow.

"Thank you for coming, be careful out there." she said, giving the two a wave.

Xxx

Akira and Yolko appeared on the 54th Floor, quickly heading toward the field. It was a rather long walk, but it only took them around an hour to reach the dungeon marked on the map. Akira hummed to himself as they reached the cavern. He opened his menu, pulling some crystals from his inventory. He placed half of them in his pocket, handing the rest to Yolko, who took them without question. She had learned to just accept the gesture rather than arguing with him.

"So, you ready for our peaceful walk through a monster infested cave?" he asked.

"As long as we don't die." Yolko deadpanned, earning a laugh from him.

"Don't worry, we won't." he said, drawing his sword for added measure.

The cavern was surprisingly well lit for a cave dungeon. He noticed the large glowing crystals every ten feet or so. These crystals were glowing brightly, maintaining the paths well lit.

They arrived at the first chamber, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. There were some small metal golems walking around, each of them minding their own business. Akira dashed forward, quickly drawing their aggro.

"Yolko, this is all you. Just use your piercing skills to bring their HP down." he said, blocking each hit with ease.

"Alright." the girl replied, drawing her sword.

She ran forward, activating her Streak skill. She drove her sword straight into its back, taking its HP down to half. Akira moved back, using his own skill to finish it off. They made short work of the others, quickly collecting some of the ore they needed.

"Let's move on." Akira said, earning a nod from Yolko.

As they continued through the cave, they ended up collecting various different ores, either from monster drops or from the walls themselves. Akira was at least able to level up his Mining Skills a bit.

"Hey Akira, I have a question for you. Now that we're 63 floors into the game, do you think we can actually clear it?" Yolko asked.

"Of course we can. We made it all the way there, what's stopping us from clearing Floor 100? Sure, it was a tough journey, and we lost over three thousand people. But we have to make it, we have to show Kayaba that he can't get away with what he's done." he said firmly.

"What if...we make it all the way up there and we can't leave. What if we beat the Boss on Floor 100 and we can't log out?" she asked.

"Well, then we admit defeat. We cleared the 100th Floor and we can't leave, what else can we do? We just, live for as long as we can. Eventually, Argus will shut down the servers and all of us will meet our demise. We just have to make every minute count." he said.

"Make it count...I find that a bit hard to do now. I've seen so many horrible things, lost people close to me. If I made it up there and couldn't leave...I think I would just jump off the edge."

"If it came to that, I wouldn't let you. Jumping off the edge would solve nothing, if you didn't want to live anymore you would have done it by now." he said firmly, glancing right at her.

"It's just...I'm scared Akira, scared that one day I won't wake up. Or that I'll be walking down some path and get blind sided."

"That won't happen, I won't let it. You joined our group and now that you have, we won't let you die. I promise I won't and this time I will keep it." he said firmly.

Yolko remained silent, looking at the floor for a few seconds. She gave him a nod, a smile on her face.

"Okay...then I'll do what you said. I'll make every single minute count. The last thing I want is for me to die because of something stupid. I'll work hard, level up and reach Floor 100." she said firmly.

"That's the spirit. Let's hurry up and find those diamonds." he said, once again take the lead. Yolko smiled, her worry melting away from her.

Another hour passed, and the two Frontliners made it back out of the dungeon, their inventories full of various ores and crystals.

"Aw, that was fun. It's been awhile since I completely shit on a dungeon. Kayaba got a bit lazy." Akira said, stretching his arms above his head.

"What...are you...talking about? That golem...almost killed us." Yolko said, still panting from the last fight.

" _Almost_. Heroes may die, but Legends are forever." he said, sheathing his sword.

"Yes, because you will definitely be one of the legends of this game." she said.

"Yeah, maybe. It's been so long that...you know I never even call this a game anymore. This, it's just but on reality for me...the real world is alright, but I like this one better. Even with all of the death running rampant, I can still appreciate this world." he said.

"I see what you mean, originally I bought SAO as a way to get away from the world. I was really popular in school, everyone wanted to be my friend, all the boys wanted to date me. They were all fake, I thought I could use this game to just forget about it all. Little did I know it would turn into this. I met Caynz on the Second Floor, and it turns out he was in one of my classes. We just clicked." she said.

"But then your paranoia got to him and he left you. The bastard, that's something I can't forgive. He should have been there to help you, not leave you in the dust." he said firmly.

"I know, but he was coping in his on way. All I can say is, I wasn't really happy by his side. I just clung to him because I was scared, and when Griselda got killed, it just made it worse. Him breaking up with me was a way to get rid of the thorn in his side. As messed up as that sounds." she replied.

"That doesn't matter. I would never leave my friends behind just because they were scared. That's just a scum bag thing to do...screw him, and Schmitt too. The only person you need is yourself, so don't worry. If leveling up is what you need, then we can definitely do that. There's a good spot on Floor 59 where the monsters dish out high EXP. But you'll need to unlock EXP Gain to double the points." he said.

"Oh, is that your secret? Using an experience buff to level up?" she asked, a smirk on her face.

"For the most part yes. But there's only so much that will do, it only increases your Experience gain by 15% for five minutes, so you basically got spam that and beat the shit out of everything in sight. Which is why pairing it with a Super Boss is effective. You'll gain ten levels easily in one hunt." Akira said.

"Isn't that extremely dangerous?"

"Yes, something that I don't recommend at all...but a few others decided to try it and met their end at the hands of overpowered monsters." he said.

The two arrived back in Dimantia. Stepping on the teleporter, the two of them instantly warped back to Lindas and started their journey back to Lisbeth's shop. After around fifteen minutes, they made it back to the quaint little shop. As soon as they walked in, the sound of laughter filled their ears. Akira smiled a bit when he saw Asuna and Lisbeth, both of them sharing stories. Lisbeth looked up, a grin on her face.

"Hey, you guys are back. Look who's here!"

"Nice to see you too Asuna. Didn't think you would be free to move about after boss fight?" Akira said, leaning against the counter.

"Yeah, all I did was give the Commander my report and he let me go. He gave me the next three days off for exploration and level grinding. But as soon as I'm through with that, I have to get right back to Recon. Did you know he's actually thinking of hiring a bodyguard for me?" he asked.

"Seriously? But you're the Lightning Flash, the fastest player in game. If anyone knows how sharp your sword is, it's definitely Heathcliff." he said.

"Yes, but apparently he doesn't agree with me. Whatever that's something I'll deal with when I go back. I'm actually here to pick up my new weapon." Asuna said.

"Ah yes, I finished it this morning. It's a beauty...so I hope you like it." Lisbeth said, kneeling under the counter. She placed the weapon on top of the counter. The sheathe was a crimson red, with a white cross on it, the mark of the KoB. From what Akira saw, the hilt was a light blue color, with a circular guard, that had white accents on it, and a round blue jewel.

"This rapier was one of the best swords I have ever forged. This quality of work is something I can only do every three months or so. Go ahead, I know you want to see it." Lisbeth said. Asuna nodded, grabbing the sword from the counter. She drew it from the sheathe, looking the beautiful blade over.

"Wow, that's a sword. I can tell it was crafted with the best materials around, no wonder you didn't have any left for Yolko's request." Akira said. If he didn't already main one handed swords, he would definitely pick up the rapier.

"Mhmm, speaking of, did you bring my items?" she asked. Akira nodded, sending her all of the ores he had collected. Her eyes widened as she materialized all of the ores and jewels, some of them falling to the ground.

"This...this is amazing, with all of this stuff I'll be able to make even more high grade weapons. I'll be able to sell directly to the frontlines for the next four months!" she said.

"Well, you needed ores and we provided. Cleared out that entire dungeon by ourselves." Akira said, a grin on his face.

"That's _so_ you. Is there a dungeon you haven't cleared of items yet?" Asuna asked.

"I haven't explored the 63rd Floor yet, but I bet you I'll find something interesting there. Maybe I can find some new armors for the others." he said with a shrug.

"That's a very nice rapier Asuna, I hope my sword will come out like that." Yolko said, a smile on her face. The Lightning Flash smirked, looking between her and the Violet Assassin, a smirk on her face.

"So, what are you two doing together? I know you joined his party, but are you two something more?" she asked.

"Oh, tell us the details. How far have you gone already?" Lisbeth asked. Akira blushed, glancing at the floor.

"Girls please, we aren't dating. I'm still not over Sasha you know." he said.

"Right, I'm so sorry Akira. I shouldn't have been so heartless." the rapier user said. He shook his head.

"It's fine, I know you didn't mean too. It's just been really hard, people still call me murderer every once and awhile. Some even say Sasha and everyone associated with me deserves to die. I can't tell you how many people have been banned from Ashley's during the last week alone." he said.

"Yes, that's something we don't tolerate on the Frontlines, however that doesn't stop people from doing it." Asuna replied, a frown on her face.

"Don't let them bother you Akira, you're stronger than you look. You've been dealing with so much in this game, more than those losers who spent half a year in the Town of Beginnings doing nothing." Yolko said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"That's what Sapphira said, but it still cuts deep. So, let's get down to business, that sword I requested, when will it be done?" Akira asked curiously.

"I should be done in about ten minutes or so...if you brought some really rare materials, you'll get to name it. I'll get started on your Estoc as well Yolko. I'll make sure it's a beautiful blade to go with that shield I made you." she said.

"I'll help you carry this stuff Liz." Asuna said, grabbing some of the ores from the counter. Akira grabbed some of the bigger ingots, leaving Yolko to carry the small and medium sized gems.

The forge was already lit when they walked down there. Liz set some of the big ores down, sifting through some of the higher grade ones. She found one that caught her interest.

"Diamond Ingot, how many of these did you get?" She asked, glancing at Akira. He shrugged, glancing at a few others on the table.

"Um...fourteen maybe? I lost count after that." he said.

"I did most of the work with the metal ores, he mined the rest." Yolko admitted.

"Well, this is going to be the best sword you've ever held, even better than that legendary class sword." Lisbeth said.

"I'll be the judge of that." Akira said, crossing his arms.

"Speaking of that, do you think I could see it up close Akira? Kirito is always bragging about how cool it is." Asuna said. He chuckled, holding back a laugh.

"It _is_ a _cool_ weapon. It's made of ice after all." he said, opening his menu. The girls groaned at his obvious pun as he sifted through his cluttered menu. He really needed to empty his inventory when he had the chance. He materialized the sword, holding it out to the Rapier user.

"It might be a little heavy, fair warning." he said. She rolled her eyes, grabbing the sword with ease. She drew it from its scabbard, gasping a bit.

"Wow, this is beautiful. You said this was made entirely of ice?" she asked curiously.

"Mhmm, some sort of icy ingot. It was already made when I got it as a quest reward. When used in battle, it has a slight chance of causing ice induced paralysis. It makes it easy when hunting orange players." he said.

"I'll say, when I first laid eyes on that baby, I thought I was going to faint. It truly is a magnificant sword...but it would be better if you found something stronger, say Excalibur?" Lisbeth said, grabbing the glowing ingot from the forge with her tonges. She set it on the anvil, grabbing her hammer.

"Pfft, if Excalibur exists in this game, then you bet your ass I'm going after it. Screw Kirito and his demon sword, the Holy Sword is mine." he said firmly.

"Come on, no hogging all of the legendary weapons now. Give the others a fair chance at them." Yolko said, giggling a bit.

"Fine, I'll give it to Silica. Imagine how funny it would be to see her with something like that? I can just see her strolling to the battlefield like a baller and drawing that shit from her back, while Pina sits on her shoulder, sipping a tiny martini." Akira said.

"Have you been power leveling your alchemy again? Remember what happened last time?" Asuna asked.

"Please, I can't be held responsible for Stoned Akira, that guy is an idiot." he said, brushing her off.

"You're the same person." Liz said, earning a sigh from the boy.

A few more taps of her hammer, and the ingot started glowing brightly. It morphed into a weapon, resting carefully on its own sheathe. It was a one handed long sword, a bit longer than normal ones, with a sharp point. The blade was completely straight, and didn't have any blemishes on it, save for a rose etching near the middle of the blade. The cross-guard was at an upward angle, and seemed to glitter in the light. There was a small diamond where the blade and the hilt met. The handle was thin, with a metallic plate on either side, instead of the usual leather. The the guards of the blade were small little diamonds, and all around the sides. Lisbeth set her hammer down, grinning widely.

"Looks like this one is the first of its kind. It turned out even better than Sapphira's." She replied.

"What's it called?" Akira asked curiously.

"It doesn't have one, I can input one if you'd like." she said.

"Okay, call it, Diamond Rose...I think that's a fitting name." he said. Lisbeth nodded, typing the name out. Once she hit enter, the appraisal window appeared.

"Whoa, it has pretty good stats...I must say this is a fine sword." she said. Yolko looked at the window, quite impressed herself.

"Attack 700-713, Durability 1356, Weight 170, Equipment +50, Strength +48, Agility + 28, Armor +30. You'll be pretty set with this sword for now Akira." She said, glancing at the boy.

"Yes I will, thanks Lisbeth, how much do I owe you?" he asked, opening the payment menu.

"Actually, I'm thinking you could have it for free. Not only did you get the ores for me, but you're also one of my best customers. Consider it a gift from me to you, it can be an early birthday present." she said.

"I suppose, thanks Liz. I really appreciate it." he said, taking the sword from the table. He drew his current weapon, placing it back in his inventory, equipping his new blade.

"When's your birthday? We should do something special." Asuna said.

"Please, I don't want to celebrate anything...I'll be turning 17 though. My birthday is in four days, on the 20th." he replied.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Yolko asked curiously.

"I'm sure, being with friends is enough. Maybe if we hurry I can kill the next boss on my birthday, that would be cool." he said.

"We can definitely make it happen, if the clearing team gets a move on. Maybe you wanna go up there and help them out?" Asuna asked. He chuckled.

"Now you're just trying to make me do _your_ job. But I suppose I can lend them a hand, it'll be a good time to gain experience. We can go after Yolko gets her Estoc made." he said.

"I'm on it!" Lisbeth said, this time grabbing a ruby ingot. She had a hunch that this would be another one of her greatest swords.

Xxx

"Aw, so you spent all day with Yolko hunting stuff down for her new weapon? That's so sweet of you!" Nijika said, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Thanks, but that's what I do for friends. I valued our friendship and I didn't want her dying on me. All I can say is, Lisbeth really knows how to make a sword. The sword she made me was my end game weapon, aside from Shiva's Heart. There was no reason for me to get another one made, especially when she increased it to max." he replied. He heard a knock on the door, and Doctor Shimizu walked in, a smile on his face.

"Hello Akira, who would this be? You're girlfriend perhaps?" the man asked.

"Mhmm, this is Nijika. Meet my surgeon, Doctor Shimizu." he said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you doctor. Thanks so much for helping my boyfriend out, ever since I found out about his condition, I've wanted to see him walk again." she said.

"It was no trouble at all. Now, I've brought you your discharge papers, along with something else. Normally I would have people wheeled out of here, but you will be the exception. You're walking out of here." the man said.

"Seriously?" Akira asked.

"Yup, just sign here and you can get dressed. You're mother will be in shortly." the man said. Akira didn't even read the papers as he quickly scrawled his name on each paper. He didn't even know if he signed his legal name or not. The doctor chuckled.

"Well, all of these are in order...we'll be seeing each other soon for a follow up. It was nice to meet you Nijika-chan."

"You too doctor, thanks again!" she said happily. Akira reached for his wheel chair, grabbing his white bag, which was filled with his clothes.

"Um, Niji would you mind giving me a minute while I get dressed?" he asked.

"Sure, I need to use the restroom anyway. I don't think I'm ready to see you naked yet." she said, standing up from the bed. She grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder.

"See you soon." he said, giving her hand a quick kiss.

She blushed brightly as she left the room. He sighed contently, shedding the hospital gown he was in. He grabbed his underwear, quickly putting it on, followed by his socks. Feeling his legs again was definitely a good feeling, especially wiggling his toes. Once his socks were on, he grabbed his jeans, putting them out with no issues.

"Hey kiddo, need some help?" his mother Alice asked. He shook his head, grabbing his tee shirt.

"Nope, I'm used to this...what's that in your hands?" he asked. The woman grinned, showing him his new forearm crutches.

"These are going to help you walk again. It's going to be a bit tough, but the doctor told me to encourage you to walk, even outside of rehab, speaking of, you have an appointment tomorrow morning."

"Yes, I didn't think I would be saying that for something people consider horrible." he said. He finished tying his shoes, gesturing for his mother to hand him the crutches. Once he had them firmly in his grasp, he pushed himself to his feet, resting all his weight onto them.

"That's it, take a step forward." she said. He nodded, shakily lifting his left leg. He shook a bit, but easily caught himself. He took another step, panting a bit.

"Man, this sucks...my legs feel like they'll break at any moment." he said.

"You'll be like that for a few weeks, but it won't be long, I promise."

"There's my little bro. Finally off your fat ass, how's it feel?" Alisha called out, entering the room.

"It feels great sis...whoa." he almost fell, but quickly caught himself, giving his sibling a grin. Nijika walked in a second later, and was at his side in an instant.

"Sweetie, you're finally standing!" she said.

"Yup, and you better help me walk. Because the first one I'm grabbing onto is you!" he said.

"Whoa, what's with this sweetheart stuff? You two...a thing now?" Alisha asked. Akira gave her a nod.

"Yes siree, Nijika is my girlfriend now. So welcome her to the family, hey...I finally got an ideal Japanese woman, are you proud of me mom?" he asked.

"Yes I am, and she's beautiful. Now you kids must be hungry, so we're going to a buffet for lunch. All you can eat!" Alice said.

"Alright, I love you so much mom...it's been forever since I last went into a buffet, I'm fucking hungry!" he cried out.

"Oh Akira, don't ever change." Nijika said. He smiled, kissing her lips, causing his mother to squeal. He pulled away, giving the blushing girl a wink.

"I never will, promise." he said.


	23. Aincrad Arc: The Spirit of Ladylake

**A/N: Hello everyone, Celestial Sky Dragon here bringing you a new chapter of The Violet Assassin.**

 **This is actually the last chapter I have written for this story for now, so I hope you all like it. You all get to see a bit of another quest that Akira and Yolko end up taking. This whole chapter is actually a reference to another RPG series, guess it correctly and you'll get a virtual cookie. Take a good crack at it, you'll definitely recognize it all if you have played that series.**

 **So, I hope you all enjoy this chapter...have a nice day.**

Sword Art Online

The Violet Assassin

Chapter 23

The Spirit of Lady Lake

A few weeks had passed since Akira's life changing surgery. The boy was improving really quickly, so much so that he almost didn't need his crutches anymore. His doctor said that he was surprised at his fast recovery, and the boy just said if he set his mind on anything, that he could get it done no matter the challenge. He was able to walk longer distances now, and had even started attending the SAO School, which had just started its first semester. To his surprise he was placed in the same class as Nijika, Asuna and Kirito. It had been a welcome sight for all of them to see the boy in school. Akira mused that he could have easily gotten tutors, but had missed the actual feel of school. He also used his crutch to practice his "Sword Skills" if anyone tried to bully him, though it rarely happened.

He had also been hanging out with Liz and Silica while at school, sharing some stories about their time in SAO. Though both girls were mostly speaking of their jealous hatred of Asuna and Kirito, since both of them held some sort of affection for the young lad. He knew the rest of Eighth Grade was going to be a blast.

Now, he was in the nearly empty cafeteria, typing a few things on his laptop. He had been quite busy as of late, as he was doing a lot more research on ALO and how New Aincrad was doing. Yvir had invited him to work with them on many occasions, but he said he didn't really feel like it, mostly because of Hayato. The higher ups of the company still didn't know what he was doing. His threats had only gotten worse as time went along, which was also why he was sifting through hundreds of lines of code. He was trying to see if he could make an Recording Item that wouldn't be visible while in use. Sadly he wasn't coming up with anything.

"Something wrong Noah? You seem rather perplexed."

He looked up, seeing his friend Lisbeth, or Rika as she was called in real life. She was holding a juice pouch in her hand. Standing next to her was Silica, or Keiko, who was also drinking her own juice. He shook his head, glancing at the screen.

"It's nothing...I'm just sifting through some lines of code for Yvir." he said.

"You're a programmer?" Keiko asked, earning a chuckle from the boy.

"Not really, well...I did learn quite a bit after I left SAO. I wanted to see if there was a way I could salvage player data from the servers. But All of Aincrad was deleted when we logged out. However, when Yvir bought the rights to SAO and ALO's servers, they found an exact copy of Aincrad during the final moments of SAO. It looks like Kayaba copied everything before the Final battle on the 100th Floor." he said.

"Does that include the glitch that saved us all?" Rika asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. All of Aincrad was reprogrammed and worked on by the guys at the company. I convinced them to keep all of the Floor bosses as special events for the future, but they changed most of them. There is something that I did find interesting." he said.

"What's that? I would like to know." the familiar voice of Kazuto said. Rika and Keiko almost jumped out of their skin when they heard his voice. Akira smiled.

"Well, while sifting through the codes, I found a carbon copy of the Mental Health Control Program. It looks like there was a second one in case Yui was unable to keep our emotions in check. When I tried running it, my computer crashed. But as I was analyzing the code, I found out why, it isn't just that program, it contains the emotional values of every player that died in Aincrad." he said.

The three remained silent, not exactly knowing what to say. It was a big shock to them, especially to him. He wasn't expecting to find something like that in SAO's source code. But there it was, tucked away where no one would see it. Kazuto turned the computer to him, humming to himself as he read the lines of code.

"You're sure about this? All 3853 players that died during SAO had their emotional states turned into data?" He asked.

"Yes, and I have reason to believe the Cardinal System was going to turn them into NPCs with an AI. It was most likely going to be for some unreleased Grand Quest, a final gambit before Floor 100. Thanks to our discovery of that glitch on Floor 85, we were able to bypass it entirely." he said.

"Oh my, I don't think I could handle seeing the faces of those who died in game." Rika said, quietly sipping her juice.

"Same here, seeing Sasha as an NPC...I think I would have died right there." Akira said, a frown on his face.

"Noah, why exactly are you analyzing Sword Art Online's source code?" Kazuto asked curiously. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"I was going to see if there was a way to make an item. I want to make a recording crystal that's completely invisible." he said.

"Why do you need an item like that?" Keiko asked curiously.

"It's Hayato...he's back and he's making threats. He wants me to give him all of my money and in game items. He also said if I don't he's going to make my life a living hell, in game and IRL." he said.

"Wait, if he's threatening you then why don't you do something about it? Get the authorities involved!" Rika cried out.

"He can't, there's no proof of what he's doing, especially since it's inside a virtual game. You would have to get a GM involved, and if I'm correct, he is a GM." Kazuto replied.

"So he would take the call, knowing its from Noah, and would most likely get his just desserts anyway." Keiko said, a frown on her face.

"It's a really annoying situation, but so far he hasn't made word on any of his threats. However, that could change at any second. I don't want any of you hurt, especially Nijika. She means the world to me." he said, a smile on his face.

"Aw, that's so cute! But I agree, it would be horrible if something happened to any of us. So what are we going to do about this?" Rika asked.

"Well, I took a quest called "To Defeat A Champion" the thing is the quest itself takes place on the 7th Floor of New Aincrad. We however are still clearing the 5th Floor." Akira said.

"I heard of that quest, supposedly if you win a fight against one of Odin's champions you get access to the Legendary Sword, Burning Ascalon. A holy weapon of equal footing with Excalibur." Kazuto said.

"Wow, a weapon like that would definitely help you in the end." Keiko said.

"It takes a One handed sword mastery of 985 to equip it. Thanks to Rain and Nymph's help, I've been able to get it up to 902. I should be able to raise it and my Dual Wielding pretty soon." he said.

"Who's Nymph?" Rika asked curiously, finishing her juice.

"Noah's older sister Alisha. She's a Pooka, so she's learning how to build herself to support others. She's doing fine, but she's also learning how to use a Katana." Kazuto said.

"She also spent a lot of money to make her avatar look just like her. She said it was bullshit how we ours look exactly like us." Akira replied.

"Did you tell her we imported our saves from SAO?" Rika asked.

"I did, but she wasn't having any of it. Anyway, I need to get all of this new data findings back to Yvir. I'm gonna finish my last few lines of code before emailing it to them. I've also developed some new types of sword skills, so you're welcome." he said giving them a smirk.

"Depends on what they are." Kazuto said.

"You'll be happy to know that all in game sword skills are now Elemental Sword Skills. You'll have to figure them out on your own though, but I will say this, Dual Wielding sword skills will be added with the next patch. So far there are five skills, Double Circular, End Revolver, Nightmare Rain, Starburst Stream and The Eclipse." he said.

"That's no fair, how come Dual Wielders get such cool skills?" Rika asked.

"Because we're the best players in the game." Kazuto replied, sharing a fist bump with his friend.

"Whatever, my mace is so much better than a dumb sword anyway." Rika said, a look of jealousy on her face. The bell rung, signifying the end of their break. Akira sighed and closed his laptop, stuffing it in his backpack, which he slung over his shoulder. He grabbed his crutch, standing up from his seat.

"Well, guess we'll have to finish this later. Are any of you doing anything after school? Me and Nijika were planning on taking a walk in the park." Akira said.

"I promised Sugu I would take a quest with her after school, maybe another time." Kazuto said.

"I'm sort of slipping up my math grades, so I need to study. Me and Keiko were going to hang out, maybe we can study at the park." Rika suggested, earning a nod from Akira.

"That sounds fun, I haven't been to the park in ages. Maybe you guys can see me run." he said.

"Nope, remember the last time you tried running? You almost got hit by a car and we don't need that happening again." Kazuto said.

"Dah, what a buzzkill...fine no running."

"Okay then, let's meet up by the front gates once school is out." Keiko said, earning nods from her friends. With that they all took off toward class.

A few hours passed and the final bell rung. Akira bid farewell to some of his friends, heading downstairs toward the front gates. Nijika had been waiting for him at the end of the stairs, giving him a smile. She kissed his cheek, taking his backpack from him.

"How was your day hun?" he asked curiously.

"Really boring...I sort of miss being in Aincrad though. That's all my classmates ever talk about. Did you know there was a quest in game to make your own cheese cake? I would have loved doing that." She said.

"Yes, I knew about that quest. Asuna made me tag along with her and Yolko to get all of the ingredients, it was a total pain in the ass." he muttered dryly.

"Mind filling me in then? I don't think I was present for this one." she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. He chuckled, kissing her cheek.

"Sure, but you know what's better than virtual cheese cake? The real damn thing. I have a recipe at home." he said.

"Oh, can we go straight there and make it?" she asked.

"Sorry, I promised Keiko and Rika that I would study with them. We were going to the park to study, and since we were planning on taking a walk there, I thought it would be good for all of us." he said.

"Hmm, alright...it's been awhile since I hung out with the girls."

He smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist as they headed down the stairs. They both continued walking down the path, chatting with a few others, before spotting their friends by the gates.

"Hey you two, ready for our study session?" Rika asked.

"Hell yeah, time to get crunching on those numbers." Akira said happily.

"Noah, will you tell me the story now?" Nijika asked, giving him a puppy look. He sighed, giving her a smile.

"Yes, I'll tell you while we go to the park." he said.

"What story is this?" Keiko asked curiously.

"Yeah, is it about our time in Aincrad?" Rika said, adding her two cents. Akira nodded.

"This is a story about the grandest of all quests within the realm of Aincrad. The mythical quest to replenish our larder. I magical quest in which we all looked for the best quality ingredients to make cheese cake!" he said.

"That sounded so hyped up, I actually thought it was going to be something interesting." Rika said.

"Oh come on, give it a chance. You might be surprised!" Nijika said, giving them a wink.

Xxx

 _(July 2_ _nd_ _2024 Location: Lady Lake Floor 66)_

The Aquapolis of Lady Lake was one of the most popular floors in Aincrad. As soon as it was opened, hundreds of players ended up moving there. It was a beautiful city, located right on a lake. It reminded players of Selmberg, but for some reason it was way more popular than the 61st Floor capital. It was a beautiful town, with cobblestone streets and nice limestone houses with red roofs. There was a long stone path that connected Lady Lake with the the field. The fields around the large lake were lush and green, with large trees dotting the area. Not far from the city, to the South East of it was a large river that fed into the lake. There was also a large mountain range, known as the Zephyr mountains. A lot of tough monsters lived up there, so not a lot of people headed that way.

To the southern part of Lady Lake was a large forest dungeon, filled with many bugs and tree like monsters. There were also some creatures called Highlander Hyena's, which were twice as big and even more ferocious than the Dire Wolves on the 1st Floor. They were really weak however, making them the best monster to hunt for easy Experience. The forest was also chock full of paths leading to various dungeons and caverns. The labyrinth had yet to be found, but not a lot of people were worrying about it.

Following the hype train, Akira had decided to sell his apartment on the 53rd Floor, deciding to move permanently to the 66th. The city of Lady Lake was just too beautiful for him to pass up. It felt like as if he was in some romantic get away tailor made for couples. To him it was just the perfect place to live. Of course, Sapphira had called him names for choosing to live there rather than on Haiku with the rest of them. He loved the rain, but he didn't feel like climbing up a ladder every time he wanted to go home.

The main market place of Lady Lake was filled with hundreds of stands, each selling fresh produce. They were also close to the river, which was flowing out of the giant waterwheel that lead to the castle. He was just wondering around, sampling anything that caught his eye. He had already eaten four apples, and various other fruits that were on sale. He stopped in front of a berry stand, staring hungrily at some fresh strawberries.

"Excuse me ma'am, I'd like to buy some of these." he said, getting the attention from the NPC vendor. She smiled, giving him a nod.

"Of course, that will be 200 col." she said. The window popped up, and Akira hit the arrow, buying ten containers of them. Paying the woman the money, she gave him a wave and a thanks. He grabbed one of the strawberries, shoving it in his mouth.

"Ah man, nothing beats a fresh strawberry. Good game Kayaba, good game indeed." he said, placing another berry in his mouth.

"There you are, jeez I've been looking all over the place for you."

Akira stopped glancing at Yolko who looked out of breath. The two of them had been getting rather close as of late, ever since heading to Lisbeth's shop to get his new weapon.

She had also gotten some new armor for herself. She was wearing a lavender tunic, which looked almost like the one she had wore previously. It had a collar which she had folded down, and was wearing a necklace around her neck, that raised her status defense. She wore an obsidian chest plate, with a rose etched into it. Around her waist she was wearing a brown leather belt with a heart shaped buckle. She was wearing a pair of black shorts, with white leggings underneath, and some brown leather boots. On her belt, she had her brand new Estoc, which was resting in a violet sheathe. On her left hip was a pouch filled with consumables.

"Sorry Yolko, I couldn't resist myself. Fresh fruit is always good to have, and it's been so long since I ate a sweet strawberry." he said, shoving another one in his mouth. She rolled her eyes, snagging one for herself.

"Yes I understand, but we were looking for that new apartment remember? I can't look for myself, especially when there are so many houses in this place." she said.

"Yes I know, don't worry I've bought all of the fruits I wanted anyway." he said, passing by a stand selling peaches. He turned around, looking at the pink heart shaped fruits. Yolko sighed, placing her hands at her hips.

"We're gonna be here all day." she said.

"Sorry, I'll get right on it, just as soon as I buy these peaches." he said, adding them to his cart. Once he had paid them, he placed them in his inventory. He and Yolko finally left the market place, walking back toward the residential area of Lady Lake.

"So, I wonder if the big castle is for sale. I would love to live there." Akira said.

"Pfft, the hell do you want a castle for? That would be a horrible place to live, especially if its just us." she said.

"But we would have servants Yolko. _Servants!"_ he said, stressing the word.

"You see, I don't want a servant, I'm perfectly capable of making my own stuff." she replied.

"You're a strong independent woman who don't need no man." he said firmly, earning a giggle from her.

"Ideally, I would want a man by my side. I've gotten over Caynz already, its just...the guy I'm interested in hasn't shown any interest." she said.

"Bake him a cake, men love getting cakes from pretty girls." he said simply, glancing at a really nice house by the river. Yolko hummed to herself.

"That could work, but I need a male perspective, what kind of cake do you like?" she asked.

"Me? Strawberry Swirl cheesecake. Me and my mother used to eat it a lot when my father and sister were gone. My father usually spends time over seas, and my older sister Alisha is in America taking her college courses, so we barely speak with her. Me and my mom used to make some whenever we had the time." he admitted.

"Cheese cake sounds lovely. I'm willing to be he'd like it too, but...how exactly would we make it?" she asked.

"The system assist should have something detailing how to make it. Did you level up your cooking skill?" he asked curiously. She frowned, shaking her head.

"I've been buying food from the stands on every floor. It's much easier to do that than waste time leveling up a skill." she said.

"Well, I guess we can't really do anything then. I was so excited too." she said, a frown on her face. Akira chuckled, shaking his head.

"Not necessarily...I just happen to know of someone who does have a high cooking skill. We'll just have to see if she can help us." he said, opening his menu. He scrolled through his friends list, finally finding the one he wanted.

"Are you sure they'll help us?" Yolko asked.

"Definitely...I doubt she would pass up the chance to make cheesecake." he said.

" _Hey Asuna, do you have some free time? I'd like to meet up with you about something."_ he typed up, quickly hitting the send button. He grabbed another strawberry, shoving it in his mouth.

"Now, we wait. Let's keep looking around." he said, stepping away from the street they were in.

Much like the other cities in Aincrad, Lady Lake had various inns, shops and other specialty stores. Having been through the market place, he expected quite a lot of big name stores. However he only saw a few shops dotting the street he was on. He did see a huge Hotel, something he hadn't seeing since Floor 49. He was tempted in seeing it on the inside, but if he did he would most likely stay the night and the last thing he needed to do was waste money on an expensive hotel suite.

"Oh look, there are some houses for sale down this street. Would you like to find one?" Yolko asked, tugging his arm. He rolled his eyes, giving her a nod.

"Okay, since I'm not having any luck I'll let you choose." he said.

Sapphira had found it odd when he proposed the idea of finding a house with his partner. It wasn't out of the ordinary for people to do this. It was much easier to pay for a house when two or more people pitched in to help. Besides he didn't feel comfortable living on his own most of the time. That's why he had let his friends stay at his place whenever they were in the neighborhood, so to speak.

They ended up going to one of the many overlooks of Lady Lake, at the top of a large set of stairs. There were three houses up there, only one of them being available for purchase. But he had to admit the small plaza was beautiful. It gave him a good view of most of the city, as well as the looming castle behind them. He was also quite close to the river in case he wanted to try his luck fishing.

The house itself was in the center of the plaza, following the curved design of the outlook, with two houses next to it. Like the rest of the houses in Lady Lake, it was made entirely out of yellow stand stone, with wooden frames around it. It had wide square shaped windows, the center one being a stained glass one. It had two oil lamps above the door to act as a porch light. The door was a nice maroon color, matching the angled roof. It also had a stone chimney, an indication that it had a fire place. Yolko gasped, clasping her hands together.

"It's perfect! Can we buy this one?" she asked.

"I suppose, what's the price?" he asked. She quickly moved toward the door, opening the purchase window. She cringed a bit.

"It's 10 million col." she said.

"Jesus H Fuck! That's expensive as all hell." he shouted, attracting the attention of the NPCs. Most of them didn't mind his outburst while others were most likely angry at his profanity. Yolko frowned, turning away from it.

"Maybe we should look elsewhere." she said, trying to leave the plaza. He held his arm in front of her, causing her to stop.

"I said it was expensive, not that I wouldn't buy it. How much money do you have saved up?" he asked.

"13 million, I've been farming and selling useless items." she said.

"Okay, let's split the cost then, five and five should do." he said. She smiled brightly, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you Akira, this is going to be the best house ever!" she said cheerfully. He chucked, scratching his head.

Once the house was purchased, the two of them had quickly settled inside. Akira had to admit, for ten million col, it was definitely worth it. Most of the furniture was made entirely out of the finest wood around. The couches and sofa had wooden frames, with light green cushions. The coffee table was made entirely out of oak, and polished with a bright gloss that made it shine. The floors were hard wood, as he was expecting.

There were a few plants at every corner, giving a bit of greenery within the house. There were a few rooms, with lavish furnishings, including Queen sized beds made from the best materials around. The kitchen was even bigger than his back in Lake View Terrace, having two ovens, two sinks and a gas powered stove. It also had a modernized refrigerator. The dining room table was made out of Pine wood, making it match with the rest of the dwelling. Overall it was a very beautiful house.

"Well, now that we have our dwelling situation settled, we can...oh hang on." Akira said, glancing at his message window. He tapped the glowing envelope, opening the window.

" _Hey Akira, what did you need to talk about? I can only take two days off this week. We're already planning the raid for the 66_ _th_ _Floor."_

" _It's something important. Are you in Lady Lake? We just bought a house up in one of the outlooks, the one that's facing the castle. If you can, please come over."_ he typed, quickly hitting send.

All the while, Yolko was watching the boy feverishly typing on his virtual keyboard. Sure she couldn't exactly see what he was typing, but she did see the recipient of the message. Smiling a bit, she felt relaxed, leaning against the counter.

"Okay, looks like we'll be having our first guest. I'll make some snacks." Akira said, opening his inventory. He pulled out all of the fruits he had bought, along with some other things. Activating his cooking skill, he grabbed a plate and some utensils.

"You know, one thing I hate about this game is the fact that the system helps you with literally everything. Like this, I can make a fruit tart by tapping it with a knife." he said, showing off his "Skill" in the kitchen. A fraction of a second later, several fruit tarts were sitting on the counter.

"That's one of the reasons why I didn't bother leveling it up. It would just take too long. Besides you have to hunt down all of the ingredients by hand in the field. That's just plain dangerous in my opinion." Yolko said.

"That's the fun part though. Being in the field hunting down plant monsters just for their sweet sap. Oh if I could find a Ragout Rabbit, that would be delightful. Then again my skills are just over 500 so it would probably mess it up." he said, placing all of the spare fruits in his surprisingly full fridge. Just as he closed the door, he heard a knock on the door. He smiled, heading toward it.

"Help yourself Yolko, I made plenty." he said.

"Okay." the girl replied, grabbing one of the delicious looking fruit tarts. She grabbed a fork from the drawer behind her, biting her lip hungrily.

"Wow, this is a nice house. It must have cost you a fortune!" Asuna said, stepping inside the dwelling. She was surprisingly not wearing her uniform. In fact she was wearing a light pink sweater, with a turtle neck. She was wearing a white skirt, light colored leggings and brown leather boots.

"Not really...well yeah it was a lot. But me and Yolko split it so it's okay." he said.

"Ooh, what's up with that? You two eloping?" the girl teased, causing him to blush.

"No, we aren't eloping. So don't even bother going to Liz with this information cuz it isn't true." he said, leading her into the kitchen. Yolko had a stack of plates next to her, having eaten quite a lot of fruit tarts. Akira was impressed, to say the least, thankfully there were plenty of them left.

"Well...I can see you're...making yourself at home already." Asuna said.

"Sorry...their just soooo good." she said, shoving more fruits into her mouth.

"Thank Sapphira and her constant nagging. I learned how to make these because she wouldn't shut up about it." he said, handing one to Asuna, along with a fork.

"So, what did you need me here for?" Asuna asked curiously, glancing between the two.

"Well, Yolko wanted to make someone a cheesecake. Sadly my skills are too low for that type of pastry and she hasn't leveled hers up at all. A little birdie told me you mastered your cooking skill, so I was wondering if you would help us." he said.

"Oh Argo, I don't even know how you get my information so fast. I'd love to help, but in order to make cheesecake we need to get some high grade ingredients. Thankfully houses come with utensils so we don't have to hunt those down. Here's a recipe I learned not long ago." she said, flicking a window to Akira. He looked it over, humming to himself.

"Giant Treeant sap, pure sheep milk, confectioners sugar...this is extensive." he muttered.

"It is, we can hunt the regular ingredients here in town, its the monster drops that we need to worry about." She said, closing the window.

"We can get Pure sheep milk on floor 56. There's plenty of sheep farmers up there." Yolko said.

"The sap can be found here in Lady Lake, it'll take awhile to round up enough for this though." Akira said.

"Well...we could hunt it down that way, but there's an easier way to get what we want. There's a quest inside the castle, called "Spirit of Lady Lake". I heard if you complete it, you get a lot of high grade food items from the castle as a reward." Asuna said.

"Hmm...that sounds a little to convenient if you ask me." Akira added, brow furrowed in thought.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth! If we can get all of the items from a single quest then let's do it." Yolko said firmly. He shrugged, turning to Asuna.

"Fine, let's do this quest. This is for Yolko after all, and just to let you know, this guy better appreciate all the trouble we're going through." he said firmly.

"I'm sure he will, if not then I'll drive my estoc through his chest." she said firmly.

It wasn't long before the party of three were heading toward the giant castle in the center of Lady Lake. It was a tall imposing structure, with large fences surrounding the main building. The entire building seemed to be made out of marble, as it was shining in the sun. If Akira had to compare it to another place, he would say the KoB guild house on the 55th Floor was similar in design, perhaps a bit smaller.

Walking up the main steps, the three players walked through the main doors, heading into an antechamber of sorts. It was large and a bit dark due to the drapes over the windows. There were banners everywhere with the castle's crest on them. Walking forward they reached an altar of sorts. The most interesting feature was the sword that was resting on said pedestal. There was a line of people walking to it, attempting to pull it from the pedestal. Akira smirked, shaking his head.

"How much you wanna bet that's Excalibur?" he asked.

"Kayaba wouldn't make getting a legendary sword that easy." Asuna deadpanned. He rolled his eyes. Walking further into the room, he noticed something else near the sword.

A young woman, with long greenish silver hair. The hair was so long that it almost touched the floor. She had it tied up in a high ponytail behind a red and gold headband. She had bright green eyes, and was wearing a long sleeved, red, white and black dress, with hints of violet. She was wearing a pair of red heels, with ribbons that wrapped around her legs. The entire garment was decorated with tiny green gems.

The odd thing about it was the fact that no one was interacting with her. It was as if she was invisible to everyone in the room. He shared a look with the girls, who just shrugged.

"Do you think this is part of the quest?" Yolko asked.

"Maybe, so far no one is looking in her direction. Maybe that's because only a player can see her. That means only a player can also draw the sword." Asuna replied.

"If that's the case, then let's get in line." he said, walking over to the line of NPCs.

"Hey, no fair! You've already gotten a Legendary sword, maybe you should let someone else take a crack at it!" Yolko snapped.

"This is for the quest, if it is a legendary weapon then I'll just give it away. I don't need two of them." he replied.

"I'll get in line too. Maybe I'll have luck and get a rapier." Asuna added.

They all just stood in line, watching as the others tried to pull the sword to no avail. When it became Akira's turn. He strode up the steps, getting curious looks from the other NPCs. The girl with the silver hair finally looked up at him, giving him a smile. He wrapped his hand around the sword.

"For Narnia!" he cried, pulling the sword as hard as he could. He grit his teeth, pulling with all of his might. But he ended up failing like all the others. He hung his head, frowning.

"Man, that was a bust." he said.

"Never ask a man to do a woman's job." Yolko said simply, taking a hold of the sword. With a light tug, it came away, glowing a bright orange as it did. The NPCs gasped, all of them pointing right at her. The silver haired girl finally stood up, gaining a golden cursor above her head.

"Marvelous, I wasn't expecting someone so young to take a hold of my sword. It's been so long since someone has shown the courage to wield it." she said firmly.

"Courage? That's all it took, wow." Akira muttered dryly. Yolko giggled, glancing the sword over. Aside from a glowing blade, it didn't look anything different than a regular estoc. The cross-guard was a crimson color, with golden designs on it. There were some bright green gems on it, making it glitter brightly in the dimmed room.

"Wow, I guess I really do have a knack for this. Who are you exactly miss?" Yolko asked.

"Where are my manners? My name is Lailah, I am the spirit of Lady Lake, protector of the sacred sword. My sword has been resting in this castle since the last century or so. I have sat here and watched countless people reach for the sword, but not one ever proved themselves, until you came." she said happily.

"Interesting, so that means she's the NPC we need to find for our quest. Excuse me, is there anything we could do for you?" Asuna asked, earning a nod from the silver haired girl.

"I require an escort to the Zephyr Mountains. There is a creature that has been terrorizing my homeland for quite awhile. Only those who can wield the sword can stand a chance of defeating it. If you successfully defeat it, I will make sure you get paid handsomely for your services." the girl replied. Akira shrugged.

"It's your call." he said.

"Okay, we accept." Yolko said, earning a smile from the girl.

"Wonderful, do you perhaps have a dagger I could borrow for the time being? I'm not that good at fighting with a sword." she said.

Akira quickly opened his menu, materializing his current dagger. He hadn't been using it actively for awhile but it was still a good weapon. He handed it to the girl, along with the sheathe. She smiled, strapping the weapon onto her belt. It wasn't long before her HP bar joined theirs at the top left of his HUD.

"I haven't done an escort quest in a long time. The last one I did was back on the 43rd Floor." Akira said, a smile on his face.

"Well looks like now's your chance. The Zephyr Mountains aren't that far from here, but there are a lot of dangerous creatures out there. So let's be careful." Asuna said firmly. It didn't take her long to materialize her KoB uniform, along with Lambent Light, her rapier. With a nod, Akira took the lead.

"Lady Lake sure is beautiful. It's been a long time since I've taken a walk." Lailah said, smiling a bit as they all headed out of the city. They were near the bridge already. Yolko looked around in wonder, the Sacred Sword having been placed in her inventory. She had tried checking its information, but other than the name, which was Sacred Sword, she didn't get any thing, no stats and no other information. So she hadn't equipped it, and decided to keep her current Estoc.

"Lady Lake is beautiful, but I prefer Selmberg. It feels more homey to me." Asuna said, earning a chuckle from Akira.

"That's so you. Kirito lives in Algade because he can sell high grade stuff to Agil for some easy money. Silica lives down in Mishe, and Lisbeth in Lindas...the rest of my friends are in Haiku...man we are all split up." he said.

"We all have different tastes, and while I agree that it would be better to live together near the front lines. I think it's good for us to live apart as well." Yolko added.

"So long as you can see your friends it shouldn't matter where you live, right?" Lailah added. Akira had been surprised, then again he remembered Gentiana really loved to talk when they were alone.

"Wise words indeed. So, why exactly do we need to head to the Zephyr Mountains?" the boy asked curiously.

"You see, several years ago there was a war in our land. Lady Lake fell victim to it, and during that time many people ended up dying. A hero rose above them all and crafted an all mighty weapon with the last of the worlds magic. However in order for it to be powerful, a Seraph had to be bound to the sword for all eternity." she said.

"And that's you right?" Asuna asked.

"Yes, I did it gratefully. I knew that I had the chance to save millions if I bound myself to the sword. During this time, the worlds magic turned evil, forming something called a Hellion. My previous master went on a journey to slay them all, but before he could slay the final one, he passed on. No one has been able to wield my sword since then." Lailah replied.

"So, since Yolko drew the sword you need her to defeat the Hellion...that makes sense. Your previous master will be able to rest easy if we do this." Akira said.

"Yes, I cannot say how grateful I am for your help. I felt ignored for a long time, but you three were the first ones to notice me. It means a lot to me that you are helping me." she said, giving them a warm smile.

"She's quite talkative for an NPC. I know this is a quest and all, but I do feel sad for her." Asuna said.

"I learned to give everyone a chance, even if they're an NPC. Every life is precious." Akira added.

After awhile, the party of four made it out to the lush fields of the 66th Floor. After dealing with some of the nearby monsters, they set a course to the Zephyr Mountains, which lied Northeast of Lady Lake. They walked down the grassy hills, just enjoying the breeze.

They heard a hiss, as several Snake like creatures slithered out of the grass. Poison Lizard Snakes, one of the common mob of the 66th Floor. Akira drew his sword, spinning it around his hand before getting into his stance.

"You girls want some extra experience points?" he asked.

"Nah, let's just relax and focus on leveling up later." Asuna said, pointing her Rapier at a nearby Snake. He nodded and dashed forward, challenging one of the snakes to a fight.

The snakes they were currently fighting were longer than the average snake. They were around fifteen feet or so, and as thick as an Anaconda. They were hissing loudly and spitting poison at them. Akira did his best to dodge them, but he ended up taking a few points of damage from the tail swipes. Getting a bit bored, Akira pulled his sword back, activating a Horizontal. He let out a cry as he cut the Snake's head clean off, making it burst into polygons.

Unleashing simultaneous skills, Yolko and Asuna made quick work of their enemies, leaving Lailah as the only one having trouble. Akira was about to step in when the girl dashed forward, kicking the snake into the air. With a cry she activated Cross Edge, slicing the snake into quarters in mid air. It flashed out of existence, ending the battle.

"Wonderful, that was easy peasy." the girl said.

"Uh...yeah...you had me worried there Lailah." Akira said, sheathing his Claymore at his side.

"It's been awhile since I was actively fighting. I'll get better...now let us continue." she said, giving him a smile. He shrugged, taking the lead again.

"So, when are you two getting hitched?" Asuna asked, earning a hiss from Yolko, who rapidly silenced her. She glanced at their party leader, who was busy talking with Lailah.

"I'm not sure, the idiot hasn't noticed any of my advances. I've been subtle and I've out right made it obvious. I mean, what grown woman chooses to buy a house with a boy she met a few weeks before?" she asked.

"Akira is...something special. Trust me, Kirito is the same...I've dropped hint after hint, but he's too dense to get the memo."

"Men are just too hard to deal with sometimes. All the focus is on leveling up and finding the rarest monster drops." Yolko said, crossing her arms, a pout on her lips. Asuna giggled.

"I feel ya. So, how strong is Akira? He barely shares his level with anyone, not even his friends." the auburn haired girl asked. Yolko shrugged, glancing at her friend and romantic interest.

"He hides his menu from me whenever he's switching weapons and stuff. He'll often wait until I'm asleep to even mess with it. What level is Kirito?" she asked.

"Last I spoke to him, he was level 79, now...probably in the nineties. Heh, I'm sure Akira could give him a run for his money."

"I would love to see a duel between those two. The Black Swordsman vs The Violet Assassin, that would be awesome." Yolko said.

"What are you two talking about back there? Are you already gossiping?" Akira asked, earning a curious look from Lailah. She was most likely very interested in their conversation.

"We aren't gossiping. We just want to know who would win in a fight, you or Kirito." Asuna said. The boy adopted a pensive look.

"Well, that depends if we're going all out against each other. Kirito has his own techniques and stuff he's hiding from me." he said.

"Okay, how about a duel to the yellow, who would win?" Yolko asked.

"Again that depends on what you consider a duel. I can very well equip my Legendary sword and wreck him, but he also has Elucidator, and he bought a new sword from Lisbeth not long ago. He must have replaced that with his new one. Honestly it depends." he said.

"Well, if you wish to see how strong your friend is, why not just challenge him out right?" Lailah asked curiously. The three players shrugged, as Asuna opened her message box.

"That's a great idea Lailah...I'll talk to him right now." she said, shooting him a message.

"A great, this is gonna be fun." Akira muttered dryly.

"We can host it in Lady Lake, right in front of our home. The plaza is big enough for a duel." Yolko said.

"Yes, it will be a good fight that's for sure."

"Women, once they get something in their heads, they just won't stop until they got it." Akira said, earning a giggle from Lailah.

Xxx

"Oh right, I heard you and Kirito had a duel on the 66th Floor, but I didn't see who won. Wish I was there." Rika said.

"Me too, I was on the 45th Floor leveling up so I didn't hear anything." Keiko added.

"No worries little sis, me and Kirito are bound to duel again some time. Then I can prove who the better dual wielder is. Niji-chan has been teaching me how to fight properly." he said, kissing Nijika's cheek. The two girls squealed.

"You two are so damn cute together. Man, I wish I had a boyfriend!" Rika snapped.

Having arrived at the park, the four friends quickly found a place to study. It was an area with some picnic tables, near the artificial lake. It was a bright and sunny afternoon, making it the perfect day to go to the park. Akira pulled out his books, along with his laptop, setting them down on the table.

"So, what are you struggling with Rika? I'm really good with math so I'll be able to help you." he said.

"Everything, from fractions to algebra." she admitted.

"Hard to believe Aincrad's best Blacksmith would suck at math. Don't you know you need to know math to make swords?" Nijika asked, earning a glare from the brunette.

"Now now, let's not tear each other apart. Big brother, do you think you could help me with math too?" Keiko asked, earning a nod from Akira.

"Sure thing sis, I'll help you out. Let's start with fractions, seeing as that's where Rika is struggling."

"I'll work on English, since you are American I want help with this too." Nijika said, opening her English text book. He chuckled, giving her a nod.

"One subject at a time sweetheart. Now, in order to solve fractions, you need to figure out what a numerator and a denominator is. It's really easy, the numerator is the top number and the denominator is the bottom number." Akira started. From the confused look Rika was giving him, he knew he would be helping them for quite awhile.


End file.
